


Boys and Hungry Hearts (Know Just What They Want)

by rsadelle



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Coming Out, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-12
Updated: 2014-01-12
Packaged: 2018-01-08 10:21:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 72,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1131501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rsadelle/pseuds/rsadelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tyler comes out (over and over again), dates, hooks up, and eventually meets a guy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Boys and Hungry Hearts (Know Just What They Want)

**Author's Note:**

> This story starts summer 2013, but I started writing it in fall 2012, so consider it a slight AU where Tyler's Twitter shenanigans never happened, he didn't get traded to Dallas, and Brownie and Julie never broke up. Title from Ke$ha's "Too Much (More Is The Cure)." Spoilers for season 3 of _The O.C._.
> 
> **Content Notes:** At one point, characters visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. I have attempted to treat this sensitively and not exploitatively, but if you don't want to read about it, you will want to skip the trip to New York section of the story. I have also attempted to project what that experience might be like in the future, but reality is likely to be different from my guess. Tyler's family members appear as characters. If that is not your thing, you may want to skip this story.
> 
> Thanks are due to many people. First, to Lake and ninja_orange for encouraging me, reading along, and answering questions. To the participants in the cheerleading aspect of the Anti-Lockout Squee Fest and my post-lockout check-in email thread, who kept me on track. To the many, many other people who answered questions I threw out on Twitter. Thank you to all of you for your help and support.

"So, um," Tyler says about a week into summer. Jesse moved in with his girl and isn't around all the time like he was last year, so it's just Tyler, Brownie, and Marshall this year. Marshall's sacked out on his favorite cushion in the living room, so it's just Tyler and Brownie sitting down to eggs at the counter in the kitchen. "I was kind of dating someone for a while last year. In Biel."

"Yeah? You didn't tell me that."

Tyler can feel Brownie looking at him, but he doesn't look up, just shrugs and takes another bite of eggs he doesn't taste.

"Was she hot? Are you going to do the long-distance thing now?"

"No, it's over." Tyler answers the easier question first. "We both knew it was just a thing while I was there." He sneaks a quick glance at Brownie before he says, "And, um, yeah, he was hot."

There's this horrible, awful, endless moment of silence.

"You- Really?"

"Yeah." Tyler puts his fork down because he feels kind of sick now. "And I wasn't just, you know, hooking up with him a lot. It was, like, we went on dates and stuff like that." He doesn't quite smile because it's not really funny, but he also says, "It was better than any of the times I dated girls."

"So you're," there's the barest hesitation, "gay?"

Tyler's whole body goes hot. He is, and he's kind of come to terms with the word as it applies to him, but he's not used to saying or hearing it out loud yet. It kind of sticks in his throat, but he says, "Yeah. I hooked up with a couple of girls when I was back in Boston, but," he shrugs, "it wasn't really good for me."

"Okay." Brownie bumps their shoulders together. "As long as you're happy and shit."

Tyler finally turns to look at him. He doesn't look like he's lying. "Is it going to be weird? The whole Facebook relationship, the wife thing."

Brownie puts his arm around Tyler's shoulders. "That's always been weird. We just don't care. But if some other dude wants you to be his wife, we're going to have to talk. I'm not divorcing you unless he's good enough for you."

Tyler leans into Brownie's side for a moment. It's so stupid that he never figured it out sooner when he's always liked this kind of thing. "Thanks."

"Dude, come on," Brownie says, "you're my best friend."

*

"We could go out for you," Brownie says when they get home one night, after Tyler has taken Marshall out for a walk.

They're not really drunk, mostly just a little buzzed, enough that Tyler feels good without feeling like he's going to be sick tomorrow. Enough that he doesn't really know what Brownie's talking about.

"We go out all the time."

"No," Brownie says. "I mean we could go out for you. If you want to pick up." He shrugs. "I don't know. There's probably a gay bar around here."

"It's Toronto," Tyler says. "There are a lot of gay bars." Then he catches up with what Brownie's saying and flushes from more than just the alcohol. "Uh."

Brownie shrugs again. "I don't know. That's how you met people when you were dating girls, so, we can if you want. Or not, or whatever. I don't know how you want to do things now."

"Yeah," Tyler says. "I met Noah, in Biel, at a bar."

"Okay," Brownie says. "Cool. We'll do that." He gives Tyler an affectionate shove in the direction of the stairs, and Tyler half stumbles up them and into bed.

The impact of what he sort of agreed to doesn't hit him until the next morning, when Brownie says on the way back from their morning workout, "Do you know anything about gay bars in Toronto?" He's looking down at his phone while Tyler drives.

"No. I've never- Can we even go to a gay bar? People know who I am, and I don't exactly want-" Tyler's hands are sweaty on the steering wheel, and he doesn't finish the sentence.

"I don't know, man," Brownie says. "If people give you shit, just bullshit them or ignore them or whatever."

Tyler takes his hands off the wheel, one at a time, and wipes them off on his pants.

"We don't have to," Brownie says, "but if you want to, I'm in."

Tyler takes a lot of deep breaths the rest of the way home, and after they eat, he takes his laptop up to his room, closes the door, and googles gay bars in Toronto. It's not as helpful as he hoped it would be, but at least most of the places are in the same area.

He doesn't bring it up again until they're on their way to work out on Friday morning, when he says, "Want to go out tonight?"

Brownie says, "Sure."

He could leave it there, but Brownie is being cool about all of this, so Tyler adds, "To a gay bar?"

"Oh, yeah," Brownie says. "Did you find one you want to go to?"

Tyler shrugs. "There are a bunch of them on Church Street. We can go wander around or whatever."

"Cool."

Brownie's not treating it like it's a big deal, and maybe it shouldn't be, but Tyler can't settle, and instead of lying down for a nap after they eat, he takes Marshall on a long, meandering walk that leaves them both exhausted enough to flop down - Tyler in his bed and Marshall on the couch because he thinks that's his bed - and sleep for a couple of hours.

The nap means he's a little more together for dinner, but then he has to go back up to his room and decide what to wear, and that's more daunting than it seems like it should be. Tyler flicks through everything in his closet twice, thinks about calling one of his sisters but discards the idea because then he'd have to tell her why he needs fashion advice, and ends up in the same thing he always wears out: tight jeans and a black v-neck.

"Dude," Brownie says when Tyler comes downstairs. He gets out the vodka and a shot glass, pours, and hands the glass to Tyler. "You need to relax. Drink it."

Tyler downs the shot.

Brownie holds out his hand. "Give me your keys."

"Why?"

"Because we're taking your car, but you're not driving."

Tyler hands over his keys. At least this way he can drink as much as he wants.

Brownie drives them down to Church Street and finds a parking place near where the bars are. "Where are we going?"

Tyler looks in both directions and picks the one that will take them closer to the places that seemed to be bigger based on what he read online.

"We should go there." Brownie nudges Tyler, and of course he's looking at a group of men going up a set of steps across the street. "Woody's," he says with a snicker.

It's as good as anywhere, so they cross the street and go into the place. Brownie steers them toward one of the bars. The place isn't quite packed, but there's a good-sized crowd, mostly men, a few women, a couple of people Tyler guesses are drag queens. If it weren't for the TVs, it might be any old bar. The TVs are all showing porn. It's kind of hot and kind of weird.

The bartender smiles at Brownie and says, "What can I get for you, handsome?"

Tyler turns his best grin on the bartender - Brownie's not the one here to get some play - and orders a pair of beers.

The bartender checks him out before he says, "Sure thing, gorgeous."

Tyler pays for their drinks in cash and another smile, and he and Brownie turn away from the bar to look at the place.

"So," Brownie says after a moment, tipping his beer bottle toward one of the TV screens, "that's what you like?"

Tyler looks, and he can feel himself blushing.

Brownie chuckles unhelpfully, and claps Tyler's shoulder. "I'm going to look around, check the place out."

Tyler shrugs. "Okay. Let's see what this place's got."

"Not you," Brownie says.

"You're just going to ditch me?"

"Half this place is checking you out. You won't be lonely for long."

Tyler doubts that's true, but he lets Brownie walk off without him. He's half scoping out the bar and half drinking his beer when someone leans on the bar next to him.

"I haven't seen you in here before." The guy really obviously checks Tyler out, his eyes lingering on Tyler's arms for longer than necessary. "I'm sure I'd remember you."

Tyler gives the guy his own once-over. The guy is wearing a button-down with the top two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms, which shows off the dip of his collarbones and the lean muscle of his arms. He's hot by anyone's standards, and his hair is so good Tyler has to resist the urge to smooth his own back.

"First time in here."

The guy smiles, and, yeah, he's even hotter when he does. "What do you think?"

Tyler smiles, just a little, and says, "I like what I see." It's a pretty obvious line, but he's gotten away with worse, and if he strikes out, there's a whole bar of guys.

"I'm glad to hear it. I'm Logan."

"Tyler." Tyler gestures to the bar with his beer. "Can I get you something?"

Logan puts his hand over Tyler's on the bottle. "Want to get out of here instead?"

It's more direct than any come-on Tyler's ever gotten. He drinks from his beer, Logan's hand dropping away from his, to give himself a second to think about it. Logan's hot and doesn't have that look like he recognizes Tyler, Tyler hasn't gotten laid in a while, and they did come out to a gay bar so he could have the chance to pick up. He glances around and can't see Brownie anywhere.

He puts his beer down on the bar and pulls out his phone. "Sure. Just have to let my friend know I'm leaving." He sends Brownie a text and doesn't wait for an answer before he smiles at Logan. "Let's go."

Logan steers him out of the bar with a hand on his back, but he stops touching Tyler once they're outside. "My place?" he asks. "My car's this way."

Tyler turns with him, and they walk down the street. It's a little warm out, but mostly nice, and Logan's not crowding him so closely that he has to worry about what people will see when they look at them.

Tyler's phone buzzes, and he pulls it out to read a text from Brownie that says, _Told you so._ He holds in his laugh and locks his phone.

Logan leads him to a sleek black Mercedes just around the corner. Tyler runs his hand along the paint job before he gets in, and then settles back in the leather seats to watch Logan's hands on the steering wheel.

Logan seems perfectly comfortable to be watched, and he glances over at Tyler at the stoplights. He pulls into a garage below a highrise similar to Tyler's and leads him into the elevator.

The elevator doors are shiny enough for a slightly blurry reflection. They look like they could belong together. Like this isn't anything strange or weird or out of place.

Tyler rolls his shoulders back, and smiles at Logan when he catches him watching.

Logan's place is at the end of a hallway. Tyler's impression of it is mostly glass; there are windows everywhere, and there's probably a great view that he doesn't see because the moment the door is closed, Logan has his hands sliding up Tyler's sides, under his shirt.

"You going to take this off?" Logan asks. "Let me see you better?"

Tyler's never objected to that, so he strips off his shirt and doesn't bother holding in his grin at the look Logan gives his abs.

"You work out." Logan's hands wander, stroking over Tyler's skin just too firm to be ticklish. "Like a lot." His hands move down, to the waistband of Tyler's jeans.

"Athlete," Tyler admits. "Do I get to see you?" He doesn't wait for an answer before undoing the buttons of Logan's shirt. Logan isn't as ripped as Tyler, but he probably has some kind of job that doesn't rely on him being that way, and he's hot anyway. Hotter with his shirt hanging open. "You work out too." Tyler runs his hands over Logan's abs, up his sides.

"Not like you." Logan runs his hand up and down Tyler's whole body, over his chest and abs, ending on the button of his jeans. "I just want to rub my cock all over your abs."

Tyler can feel himself flushing. Noah could be direct when they were hooking up, but that was after they knew each other for a while. Logan's a lot more direct for a stranger than Tyler's used to. He goes with it, though, because he wanted to get laid. That was the whole reason they went out. Or a lot of it anyway.

"Do you have a bed in this place?" Tyler smiles and licks his lips; he knows what works on people who think he's hot. "Easier to do if I'm lying down."

Logan hooks his fingers under the edge of Tyler's waistband. "Right this way."

Tyler's sure Logan's place is nice, but he doesn't see much of it because Logan pulling him along by his jeans is pretty distracting.

Logan turns on a light when he pulls Tyler through the bedroom door. Tyler has a brief impression of a really big bed before Logan pushes him onto it. Logan clambers after him, and ends up straddling his chest.

Tyler puts his hands just above Logan's knees and runs them all the way up to his thighs. Logan has some muscle under his slacks.

"You look just as good from this angle," Logan says.

Tyler grins at him and takes the compliment as permission to get Logan's pants open. "I bet I feel just as good."

Logan puts his hands on Tyler and leans a little weight onto them as he touches. "You really do."

Tyler doesn't stop with Logan's pants. Once they're open, he pushes them, and Logan's boxer briefs, down and takes out his cock. It's already hard and heavy in Tyler's hand.

Logan moves his hands from Tyler's body to the bed on either side of him, pushes himself up on them, and comes down to rub his cock on Tyler's abs. It's hotter than Tyler thought it would be when Logan said it.

"Oh, God, this feels amazing," Logan says.

That kind of thing only makes Tyler harder.

"I thought maybe you could blow me," Logan goes on, "that mouth, but this feels so good."

"I want in on this too." Tyler puts his hands on Logan's hip to stop him. "Let me get my pants off."

Logan pushes back with a groan until he's just straddling Tyler again. There's a trail of wet from his cock on Tyler's stomach.

Logan undoes the button on Tyler's jeans with one hand while he yanks the zipper down with the other. Tyler lifts his hips so they can push his jeans and underwear out of the way. The moment he lets his hips drop back to the bed, Logan's on him again. It's better this time, and Tyler shifts them a little so Logan's thigh rubs against his cock every time Logan moves. It's a little rough, a little dry, but it's also good.

"Oh, fuck," Logan says. "Your body is amazing. I just want to ride it."

Tyler grabs Logan's ass and helps him do just that. The angle's a little strange, but he gets his mouth on Logan's neck and nips and sucks at his skin while they rub against each other.

"Fuck," Logan says, "oh, fuck, I'm going to come," and he sounds more like porn than anyone else Tyler's ever slept with, and it's still hot.

"Come on, baby," Tyler says into the skin of Logan's throat. He's pretty close too, and he just needs Logan to keep moving a little longer or move and let him touch himself.

Logan grinds hard into him, his dick a solid line of heat between them, and then he comes all over Tyler's stomach, and he draws back to stare at it. "Oh, fuck." His hand runs across Tyler's chest, the part that's still dry. "That's so hot."

Tyler arches his hips, trying to rub against whatever part of Logan he can, because he was so, so close, and he really wants to come. "I need to come so bad."

Logan sits back on his heels, still watching Tyler but not touching his dick, and then he puts his hand on Tyler and jerks him off in strong, sure strokes that have Tyler coming and adding to the mess on his stomach in no time at all.

"That was so good," Logan says.

Tyler kind of nods, but really, he just wants to lie here and enjoy it for a moment. He throws his arm over his eyes. His breath is still fast and hard, and fuck, it was good. He hasn't dared to hook up with a guy since he got back in fucking December, and that would have been hot even if he'd been hooking up every night.

Logan gets off him, and Tyler should probably pay more attention to that, but he likes it in the darkness behind his closed eyes, so he doesn't until Logan says, "You look so good it's a shame to clean you up, but that's going to be uncomfortable after a while."

Tyler moves his arm and opens his eyes to look at the mess of come on his skin. He guesses it's hot. He would probably think so if it were someone else's body.

He reaches for the washcloth in Logan's hand, but Logan pushes his hand away and says, "I've got it," so Tyler lets Logan clean him up, which comes with a lot of Logan feeling him up, but it's not like Tyler has a problem with people touching him.

He's thinking he should probably get out of there when Logan goes into the bathroom and comes out again, but Logan says, "I really did want you to blow me. Want to hang out for a while and go again later?"

Tyler looks at Logan's dick, and, yeah, he could suck on that. "Sure," he says with a lazy smile.

Logan's smile is less lazy and more hungry. "You want a drink? Snack?"

"A drink would be good. Whatever you've got."

Logan pulls up his boxer briefs and pants before he leaves the room. Tyler doesn't see the point, but Logan's ass does look great as he walks away.

Tyler kicks his jeans and underwear off and drops them and his socks onto the floor.

Logan stops in the doorway when he comes back, a beer in each hand. "You look like porn."

"Thanks, I guess."

Logan smiles. "Definitely a compliment." He gives Tyler a beer.

Tyler sits up enough that he can drink it. Logan sits down next to him and picks up a remote from the nightstand. He flips channels for a bit before settling on some kind of home improvement show.

"Okay?"

"Sure." It's not what Tyler would pick, but this is a hookup, not a date, so he doesn't care that much.

They sip their beers and watch some blonde woman talk about curtains and don't talk, and it's weird. It's weird because watching TV with people usually means talking, and it's weird because Tyler's naked, and it's weird because they're only watching TV because neither one of them can get it up again yet. It's weird because during the commercial breaks Logan's eyes slide over Tyler's body.

It gets a lot less weird after a while when Logan stops just looking and starts touching, and then Tyler does blow him, because it's hot when someone's that into him and he's done it before and knows he's pretty good at it, and then he stops thinking about anything but what they're doing when Logan blows him.

He lies there for a couple of minutes, letting himself come down, before he sits up - Logan's eyes on him the whole time, and Logan taking a breath loud enough for Tyler to hear when he sits up using just his abs - and drinks the last of his beer. It's a little warm, but it still tastes better than his mouth does.

"I'm gonna," he says, and he gets up and starts sorting out his clothes from the heap on the floor. It was good, but Logan doesn't seem to want him to stick around any more than he wants to stay. And isn't it supposed to be easier with guys anyway?

"Yeah, sure," Logan says. "Do you need a ride?"

"No, I'm good."

Logan watches Tyler get dressed, and pulls on his pants and walks Tyler out to the door where he watches Tyler pull on his shirt. "I had a good time."

"Yeah, me too," Tyler says.

"Maybe I'll see you around sometime."

"Yeah, maybe. Thanks for the beer."

"Sure." Logan opens the door for him, and Tyler's pretty sure Logan's checking out his ass as he walks down the hall, but it's not like he hasn't already had his hands all over it, so whatever. He can look.

Tyler walks up two blocks to a street busy enough for him to catch a cab home. The apartment is dark and quiet when he gets there, but Marshall jumps up and comes to nose at his knees when he turns on the light.

"Hey, buddy." Tyler scratches behind his ears, down to his haunches, and pats his sides, while Marshall sniffs at him. He sends Marshall back to his own bed, and goes into the kitchen for a glass of water.

He turns out the lights and drinks his water on the way upstairs. Brownie's door is closed, and there's no light coming from the bottom of it.

Tyler takes a quick shower to wash the smell of sex and sweat off of himself, and finishes his glass of water before he goes to bed. He hooked up with a dude he met in a bar. A dude who didn't seem to know who he was and only cared about his abs and his mouth.

His breath goes shaky for a minute, and he wishes he'd brought Marshall up to sleep with him. It'll be fine, though. No one was paying that much attention to him, or to him and Logan. It'll be fine, and that means he can do it again.

*

Brownie's in the kitchen making eggs when Tyler gets up in the morning, and he turns away from the stove to look Tyler over. "I didn't hear you come in last night."

"It was late." Tyler pays careful attention to making their protein shakes.

"I told you you wouldn't be alone for long. I didn't think it would be quite that fast, though."

Tyler blushes, because his skin is stupid like that. "Fuck off."

Brownie says, "Maybe you don't need one, but I'll still be your wingman if you want," and then he stops talking and puts bread in the toaster and divides the eggs onto two plates.

When they're settled at the counter and Tyler's pouring ketchup onto his eggs, he says, "Thanks."

Brownie pushes his shoulder into Tyler's. "Sure."

*

They go out a couple of days later with a bunch of other people, and Tyler gets hassled for being the only single guy not trying to pick up, enough that he flirts with a girl for a couple of minutes, fails to get her number, and goes back to the table.

"You strike out already?" Jesse asks. He has one arm thrown around his girl's shoulder, and she's leaning against him. Casual, like they don't have to think about it.

Tyler shrugs. "Not my night."

"You gotta try harder."

"Leave him alone," Brownie says. "Maybe it's not his crowd." He smirks a little at Tyler.

Tyler tenses, until Jesse says, "Yeah, maybe no one here's dumb enough to go home with him."

The tension snaps, and Tyler laughs and shoves him.

He doesn't forget about it, but he spends his time having fun instead of thinking about it, until the cab ride home. Brownie is texting with Julie, and Tyler's kind of wasted, so leans on the window and watches the lights pass by. It would have been nice to hook up, maybe, but that's not going to happen when he goes out like that, not anymore.

*

"If you want to hook up," Brownie says while they're making breakfast in the morning, "we can go out again."

Tyler whisks the eggs with a fork and carefully pours them into a pan. He means to agree to going out, but instead he says, "I think I'm going to tell Jesse."

"Okay," Brownie says after a second. "Cool."

Tyler makes a face at the eggs. "You think it'll be okay?"

"It's _Jesse_ ," Brownie says. "It'll be okay, or I'll kick his ass myself." He reaches around Tyler and takes the spatula away from him. He was overstirring the eggs. "I'll be there if you want."

Tyler gets out of the way and makes their protein shakes instead. "No. I can do it." The noise of the blender means he doesn't really have to talk about it for a minute.

"Jesse's cool," Brownie says. He nudges Tyler with an elbow. "Just remember I'm a better wingman."

Tyler laughs and his hands are steady when he pours their shakes into glasses.

*

Jesse comes over to hang out while Brownie's off doing something that Tyler figures is mostly leaving him alone for this conversation. The first thing Jesse does is get on the floor and let Marshall lick him. Marshall's tail is wagging like crazy, and Jesse's smiling so much that if he had a tail it would be doing the same thing.

Tyler sits down on the floor too, even though it sends Marshall into an ecstasy of turning around because he can't decide who to give his attention to.

"You have the best fucking dog," Jesse says.

"I know." Tyler puts his arms around Marshall and rubs his back. "Don't I? Yes, you are the best fucking dog." He pats Marshall's sides and lets go so he can go back to Jesse, who scratches behind his ears. "If I tell you something, you can't tell anyone else."

Jesse glances at him for a second before focusing on Marshall. "Are you signing another multimillion dollar endorsement that's going to make us all jealous?"

"No." Tyler's hands fall to his lap. "I'm, um, I'm gay." It's the first time he's said those words to anyone else, and his heart feels like it's going to beat out of his chest.

Jesse's silent for too long. Marshall whines, and comes to nuzzle at Tyler's chin.

"Shhh." Tyler rubs the sides of Marshall's face. "It's okay."

"But you dated that model."

"Yeah, I know." Tyler doesn't look up. "And now I know why that didn't work out."

"Okay," Jesse says slowly. He runs his hand down Marshall's back. "Who else knows?"

"Brownie and the guy I was dating in Switzerland." And Logan, but that was just a hookup, and he didn't even know who Tyler was so it's not worth mentioning. "Some of the guys in Switzerland might have figured it out, but I didn't tell any of them." Marc probably figured it out, but he didn't say anything about it to Tyler.

"Huh," Jesse says. "No wonder you didn't pick up the other night."

"Yeah." Tyler looks up, and Jesse's looking at him, but he doesn't look like it's going to be a problem. "It really wasn't my crowd." He says it faintly, but it makes Jesse laugh anyway.

"Is there a place that is your crowd?"

Tyler shrugs. "There are some bars and clubs here. I've only been to one." His cheeks are still hot, and he doesn't look up from Marshall.

"Do you- I mean, I don't know anything about it, but I can-"

Tyler figures out what Jesse's trying to say and stops him before it gets any more awkward. "Brownie already said he's a better wingman." It has the benefit of being so true there's no way Jesse can dispute it.

Jesse reaches for Marshall, who goes to him when Tyler lets go. "Did he go with you to the place you went?"

"Uh, yeah, but I didn't really need his help to pick up." Tyler looks up in time to see Jesse roll his eyes.

"Of course you didn't."

Tyler shrugs. "Are we going to play some _Call of Duty_ or what?"

Jesse pats Marshall and stands up. "You were the one who was all, 'I have something to tell you.'" He grabs the controllers and tosses one to Tyler, and they're still sitting next to each other on the couch when Brownie comes home.

*

"We're going out," Brownie says on Friday. "Are you coming?"

"No." Tyler keeps his eyes on the spaghetti sauce that doesn't really need stirring. "I thought I would go out, somewhere else on Church Street."

"Oh. You want me to come with? Be your wingman?"

"No." Tyler glances up. "I didn't need you last time, thought I would try on my own again."

Brownie shrugs. "Suit yourself."

They eat dinner together and don't talk about that, and Tyler waits for Brownie to take off before he goes upstairs to figure out what he's going to wear and where he's going to go. He ends up in pretty much the same outfit as last time, but with different jeans. The sex was good last time, but Woody's was a little much, even with Brownie there. There are a couple of other places he might go, and he ends up just heading down to Church Street and walking around a bit.

Tyler pays more attention this time, since it's just him and this is supposed to be his people or whatever. There are couples holding hands, two guys with their arms around each other giving each other sappy looks while they wait outside a restaurant. Everyone seems relaxed and chill. It's nice. A couple of guys check him out, but he's pretty sure they're just looking at him, not looking because they recognize him.

Tyler picks a place that looks pretty chill and has the Jays game on the TVs scattered around the room. There are a couple of empty stools at the bar; Tyler picks one with a good view of the game and orders a beer. He's paying attention to what's happening around him, so he notices when a guy sits down next to him.

The guy is also watching the game, and they both wince when a third strike ends the inning.

"Sucks," Tyler says.

"Yeah," the guy says, "and they had such a good streak going last month." They share the rueful look of fellow sports fans, and then the guy says, almost hesitantly, "You're Tyler Seguin, right?"

Tyler can feel his face freezing into the polite smile he often gives people who recognize him. Maybe choosing a bar showing the game was a bad idea. "Yes."

The guy looks him over, checking him out. Again, because he had to have done it once before he decided to sit next to him. "What are you doing here?"

Tyler shrugs and keeps the polite smile on his face. "Just looking for somewhere quiet to watch the game."

The guy looks disappointed. "Sorry to bother you."

Tyler shrugs again. "No worries, man."

The guy raises his beer in Tyler's direction and slides off his stool.

There isn't an inconspicuous way to watch where the guy's going, but he ends up at a table with a bunch of other guys just at the edge of Tyler's peripheral vision. Tyler can't relax, not when he can feel them looking at him. He finishes his beer while he watches part of the next inning, but when the bartender asks if he wants another, he shakes his head and abandons his bar stool and the bar.

That didn't work out as well as he wanted it to, but Tyler didn't get where he is by giving up after losses. There are plenty of other bars on Church Street, and just because this one didn't work out doesn't mean another one won't. He squares his shoulders and keeps going in the direction he was going when he hit this one. One more bar, and if he strikes out there, he's either going home or trying Woody's again.

Tyler crosses the street to try a place that looks a little dimmer than the place he was in before. The lights are lower, but there's more color, and more going on. And, he realizes when he goes to the bar and slides in next to someone in a dress, drag queens.

"Oh, honey," the one next to him says, turning to look at him as he tries to get the bartender's attention, "you are going to be a hit around here."

"Thanks?"

It gets his cheek patted. "Sugar, that's a very good thing. You trust Miss Dee on this one."

Tyler smiles, kind of.

Miss Dee turns to the bar and calls, "Johnny, come take this pretty boy's drink order."

It's better than being recognized, but it still makes Tyler's cheeks heat. At least it gets him a beer.

Miss Dee pats his cheek and says, "If only I were single and twenty years younger," with a sigh. "I'm going to leave you alone now and make space for one of the other pretty boys looking at your ass to talk to you." Miss Dee makes a show of leaning over to stare at Tyler's ass and winks at him.

Tyler gulps down some of his beer, and it's probably less than a minute before someone else takes the space next to him at the bar. It's too bad it took him so long to realize he's gay; this is way easier than trying to pick up girls.

"I figure," the guy says, "anyone who catches Miss Dee's attention is worth talking to." He holds out his hand. "Aiden."

Tyler shakes his hand. "Tyler."

"Tyler," Aiden says. "I'd offer to buy you a drink, but I see you already have one."

Tyler raises his beer in acknowledgment. Aiden's hands are empty so he asks, "How about I buy you one instead?"

Aiden smiles at him, and it lights up his face. Miss Dee really did mean pretty boys. "Sure thing. Whatever you're having."

Tyler leans into the bar to catch the bartender's attention and orders Aiden a beer.

"Thank you." Aiden raises his beer and touches it to Tyler's.

Tyler smiles at him and drinks.

"So," Aiden says, "how about those Jays?"

Tyler makes a face. "I was watching part of the game earlier," he says. "It was painful."

Aiden laughs, louder than that comment really calls for. "Wow," he says after a moment, "I didn't expect to get a real answer out of that one." He waves a hand. "This place isn't usually crawling with sports fans."

"You did ask," Tyler says.

"That I did," Aiden says. "It makes me wonder what else I could ask and get an answer to."

Tyler leans against the bar and gives Aiden a half-smile that almost always worked on girls. "Why don't you try it and see?"

The sound level in the bar isn't enough to keep them from being able to hear each other, but Aiden leans in anyway. "Okay," he says, "let's start with an easy one. Are you from Toronto?"

"Yes. Technically the suburbs, but I went to high school in Toronto for a while." He could hold his own in the press of people on his other side, but it makes for a good excuse to shift closer to Aiden. "How about you?"

"Vancouver," Aiden says. "Came here for U of T and stuck around for an internship this summer. It's tough not seeing my family and friends back home during summer vacation, but there are other things here to make up for it."

Tyler watches Aiden's throat move as he sips his beer. "I hear that."

Aiden's smile turns his lips into a gentle curve. "How about something a little tougher? Favorite TV show?"

It's on the tip of Tyler's tongue to say that's not that tough, except no one ever expects him to like the things he likes. He could lie, but it doesn't seem worth it for a guy trying to pick him up in a bar. "Uh, right now, it's probably _Pretty Little Liars_."

Aiden laughs, but he doesn't seem to be being mean about it. "Really?"

Tyler can feel his cheeks turning bright red. It's probably not dark enough to hide it completely. "I like it," he says, "and my sisters watch it, so we can talk about it."

Aiden holds up his hands. "Hey, I can respect that. Are your sisters older or younger?"

"Younger." Tyler's sisters are great, but he doesn't really want to talk about them with a guy he just met. "I told you mine, so your turn. What's your favorite show?"

"I guess that's fair," Aiden says. "I'm a total cliche. A friend loaned me a couple of seasons of _Queer as Folk_ , the US version, and I've just been watching them back-to-back after work."

"I haven't seen it," Tyler says, and he probably can't have something called that at his place anyway if he doesn't want way more people asking questions about him. "Is it good?"

"It's so good," Aiden says. "And it was filmed here, so it all looks familiar. You should check it out."

"Maybe I will." Maybe he can download it from iTunes or something. "What do you do when you're not watching episodes back-to-back?"

Aiden shrugs. "Oh, you know, usual things like hanging out with friends, playing video games. Trying to pick up hot guys in bars."

"You're doing pretty good on that last one," Tyler says.

"Yeah? You think so?"

"Oh, yeah." The place has gotten busier while they've been talking, so Tyler shifts a little closer. "You want to get out of here? Maybe go somewhere quieter?"

Aiden gulps the last of his beer and reaches across Tyler to put it on the bar. "Yeah, let's go."

Tyler puts the rest of his beer on the bar and then puts his hand low on Aiden's back. Aiden flashes him a look that promises good things, and doesn't move away from Tyler's touch. Tyler keeps his hand there until they get out onto the street.

"What did you have in mind?" Aiden asks.

Tyler weighs his options. They could go get a drink somewhere quieter, or food or something. Aiden hasn't offered his place, so that's probably out. Aiden seems nice, but Tyler's not really looking for a date here. It's a risk, but he takes a breath and says, "You want to come to my place?"

Aiden looks him up and down, taking just long enough that Tyler shifts on his feet. Maybe that was the wrong option.

Aiden shakes his head and laughs. "I'm just messing with you. Yes, absolutely, let's go to your place."

"Not cool, man," Tyler says, but he starts walking toward his car and Aiden falls into step next to him.

"I couldn't resist," Aiden says. "You're just so." He waves a hand up and down in Tyler's direction, like Vanna White. "You know. You don't look like you get rejected much."

Tyler copies the gesture. "Neither do you."

Aiden shrugs. "I do all right, but I'm not quite in the same league as you."

"And yet here we are."

"Here we are. I guess my luck is on an upswing."

"Something like that." They're not actually that far from his car, and Tyler clicks his keychain to unlock it as they get close.

"Nice," Aiden says with a low whistle. Tyler can see him reach out to touch the side before he splits away to get in the driver's side.

"Thanks." Tyler turns the key. The stereo blasts to life with Drake, and Tyler turns it down quickly. "Sorry."

"It's cool." Aiden leans back in his seat. "Not exactly my jam, but whatever."

Tyler gestures at the stereo. "You can change it."

Aiden seems to consider it. "How far are we going?"

"Not far. Ten minutes."

"Not annoying enough to change," Aiden says. "No offense."

Tyler shrugs. It's nothing compared to the chirping he and some of the guys have exchanged on the subject of music.

"All right," Aiden says, "new question: Taylor Swift or Lady Gaga?"

Tyler's laugh bursts out of him. "Can you really compare them? They're totally different."

"You can compare anything," Aiden says. "Pick one."

"Okay," Tyler says, "Lady Gaga."

"So you're a party boy," Aiden says, "not a romantic."

"This is why you can't compare them," Tyler says. "It's not like I never listen to Taylor Swift."

"You're really easy to wind up," Aiden says. When Tyler looks over, Aiden's grinning at him. "But, come on, the people who pick Lady Gaga over Taylor Swift aren't the romantics."

"Okay," Tyler says, "so which one do you pick?"

"Lady Gaga," Aiden says. There's laughter in his voice. "But I know I'm not a romantic."

Tyler doesn't know what to say to that - he's not really thinking about romance, here - so he doesn't say anything, and Aiden twitches the volume a little louder when the song changes.

"Nice neighborhood," Aiden says when Tyler pulls into the garage.

"Yeah," Tyler says. "I like it. Good for walking the dog."

Aiden laughs and follows him into the elevator. "You look like that and you have a dog. I bet you never get rejected."

Tyler shrugs, because he hasn't tried enough with guys to really have any idea, and his experience with girls probably doesn't count.

"Well," Aiden says, leaning one hip on the railing, "I'm certainly not rejecting you."

Tyler's not quite dumb enough to take him up on the implied invitation in an elevator that's sure to have security cameras, but he does let himself look at Aiden, trying to be obvious enough about it that Aiden will get it. It works, if Aiden's look back is anything to go by.

Tyler lets them into the apartment to a jingle of tags and happy, if quiet, noises from Marshall.

"Hi, buddy." Tyler crouches down to rub behind Marshall's ears. "Yeah, you were home alone for a while. Was it too long?" He kind of forgets about Aiden for a second, but remembers when Aiden steps close enough that he's in Tyler's eyeline and Marshall goes to sniff his legs.

"This is Marshall," Tyler says to Aiden.

"Hi, Marshall." Aiden holds his hand out to Marshall and waits for Marshall to smell him and decide he's okay before he pets him. "Nice," he says to Tyler.

"Yeah. He's an awesome dog. Aren't you?"

Aiden stops petting Marshall and steps right into Tyler's space. "Now I really can't imagine you getting rejected." He kisses Tyler before he can come up with an answer. It's good. Aiden's got his hands on Tyler, tipping his face down to just the right angle, and he's going kind of slow.

They make out like that for a little bit, long enough that Marshall loses interest in them, but it's only when Aiden's hands start to wander that Tyler pulls away and says, "We should- I have a roommate. We should go up to my room."

"Sure." Aiden doesn't stop right away; he kisses Tyler a few more times, and his hands knead Tyler's shoulders, and then he steps away and slides his hand down Tyler's arm and into Tyler's.

Tyler hasn't held hands with anyone in a long time; it's not something he and Noah did. It takes him a second to get used to it, and then he takes Aiden up the stairs to his room and locks the door behind them. He doesn't think Brownie will try to come in, but it's better not to chance it.

Aiden doesn't even say anything about his room before he pulls Tyler close and kisses him. Since they're not in the living room anymore, Tyler feels a little better about doing more than just kissing. He lets himself touch Aiden's hair and his neck and his back. He wants to put his hands on Aiden's ass, but they're still just kissing and Aiden's not even trying to get under his shirt yet. But. But Aiden came home with him, and Aiden came upstairs with him, and every time Aiden brushes against him, Tyler can tell he's getting hard.

Tyler keeps one hand higher, but puts one on Aiden's ass. Aiden makes a little _mmm_ noise into his mouth and doesn't stop him, so it must be okay.

Aiden's the one to press forward, a couple of minutes later, and bring their hips together. He's definitely hard, and so is Tyler. Aiden's hands still aren't wandering as far as they could, but the hard-on pressing into Tyler's thigh is a pretty clear signal.

"Hey," Tyler asks, "can I blow you?"

Aiden stares at him for a second, but he's not going anywhere. "You're like a wet dream come true," he finally says, and he rubs his thumb over Tyler's bottom lip. "Yes, you can blow me. Like anyone would turn that down."

Tyler unbuttons and unzips Aiden's jeans while they're still standing so close his hands brush his own stomach as much as Aiden's. He goes to his knees as he pushes them and Aiden's underwear down, and Aiden mutters, "Jesus Christ," barely loud enough for Tyler to hear.

Tyler smiles up at him, and licks his lips, and Aiden pushes his hand through Tyler's hair.

"Show-off."

Tyler laughs and leans in to lick at Aiden's cock. It's a nice cock, and years of locker rooms mean Tyler's seen his fair share. It's full, but not too big to fit in his mouth. He licks for a while first, tasting it and getting a feel for the shape of it, and for what Aiden likes. Aiden's polite enough not to pull Tyler's hair, at least not yet, but he makes enough noise that there's no mystery about what he likes.

There's more Tyler could do, tease him or use his hands or lick his balls, but he really does want to blow Aiden, so after only a little while of that, he takes the tip of Aiden's cock into his mouth.

Aiden says, "Oh, fuck," and Tyler looks up to see that Aiden's staring at him with wide eyes, and his hands are flexing at his sides.

Tyler pulls back, even though he likes having Aiden's cock in his mouth, and says, "Don't pull my hair, but you can touch me. If you want."

"If I want," Aiden mutters, and he touches Tyler when Tyler sucks his cock in again. His hands keep moving, on Tyler's hair, his cheek, down to his shoulders. When they come back up over his face, Tyler uses his tongue to press Aiden's cock against his cheek so Aiden can feel it.

Aiden makes a noise like a strangled moan, and keeps his hand there for a minute. "Fuck, Tyler," he says. "You're like every wet dream I've ever had come true."

Tyler does his best to smile, and then he takes Aiden deeper and swallows. He likes sucking cock, and Aiden is an appreciative audience. He keeps touching Tyler, but he doesn't pull his hair, which is nice of him and shows pretty good self-control.

Tyler bobs on his cock, uses his tongue to get all the places that make Aiden moan. He thinks about touching himself, but he's hoping Aiden will blow him after, so he puts his hands on Aiden instead, and touches his balls and the base of his cock.

"Fuck, Tyler," Aiden says after a while, "I'm going to," and he tugs Tyler back a little.

Tyler lets Aiden's cock slip out of his mouth and jerks him off the rest of the way. He stays there for a little bit after that, until he thinks he can let go of Aiden without him falling over, and then he goes across the room and wipes his hand off with a tissue.

"I'll totally do you," Aiden says. "Just give me a second to catch my breath." He kisses Tyler when Tyler gets closer to him, and doesn't seem to mind that Tyler's mouth tastes like his cock. "That was an excellent blowjob." He really is leaning on Tyler a little. "I think we're going to have to use the bed so I don't fall over."

"That's cool with me." Tyler sits on the edge of the bed.

Aiden looks down at him. "No," he says, "lie down," and he half tugs at Tyler until Tyler's stretched out on his bed, head propped up on a pillow so he can still see what Aiden's doing. "Damn, you look good." Aiden leans over and kisses him, and then he draws away and unbuttons and unzips Tyler's jeans.

Tyler's ready to lift his hips to let Aiden get his pants off, but Aiden just draws his cock out without bothering with it. Aiden doesn't go slow the way Tyler did. He wraps his hand around the base of Tyler's cock and holds it there while he goes down on him. He's good at it, sucks a lot, tongues the head of Tyler's cock when he pulls back. He doesn't touch Tyler anywhere else, though, so Tyler stretches one hand over his head and runs the other over his chest. It'd probably be better without his shirt, but he's not going for anything more than a little extra sensation, so he doesn't bother taking it off. Besides, he doesn't want to interrupt Aiden's concentration.

He doesn't close his eyes, because Aiden's a pretty hot guy and Tyler likes seeing his lips wrapped around his cock.

Aiden totally knows what he's doing. Tyler rubs his hand over his stomach and brushes it over his nipples. The fabric of his shirt doesn't so much dull the feeling as it makes it a little rougher. He doesn't really need it, though. Aiden's good enough that he could get Tyler off with just his mouth.

Tyler doesn't thrust the way he wants to because he's more polite than that, but he moves a little, and Aiden jerks him off with his hand on the part of Tyler's cock he's not sucking.

Tyler doesn't forget about Aiden, exactly, but when he gets closer, he's pretty much just thinking about his cock and how good it feels. He barely remembers to warn Aiden that he's going to come, and Aiden barely touches him after he stops sucking him before he comes.

"Oh my God," Aiden says, and he grabs at the tissues while he crawls up over Tyler. "That was so hot."

Tyler's not really ready to be kissed - he needs to breathe - but he doesn't stop Aiden and it gets good again after a few minutes.

"I wish I could get it up again," Aiden says. "I would totally get off on how hot that was."

"Yeah," Tyler says. "It was good." He kisses Aiden for a while. The making out is good too. "You could jerk off to it later."

Aiden grins at him. "I'm definitely doing that."

Tyler grins back at him. "Me too." It was even better than the time with Logan, and he's already jerked off to that a couple of times.

Aiden kisses him again, and keeps kissing him. It's a good kind of making out, lazy and calm, and Aiden backs off a little when his jeans brushing against Tyler's cock is too much. They both tuck themselves back in, and then Aiden stretches out over him and they make out again.

Aiden's great, but Tyler doesn't really want to fuck around with him any more than they already have, and his lips are starting to get kind of sore from the blowjob and all the kissing.

This is the part he was never that good at with girls either that doesn't seem any easier with guys.

He tries not to look too relieved when Aiden slows down their making out and pulls away.

"I should get going," Aiden says.

"Sure." Tyler sits up. "You want a ride home?"

"Nah." Aiden waves at him. "I'm fine, and you look comfortable."

Tyler gets up after Aiden does. "I'll walk you to the door at least." He does, follows Aiden down the stairs, holds the door, and points him in the direction of the elevator.

"This was fun," Aiden says. "I'm out on Church most Friday nights. Maybe I'll see you around."

"Yeah," Tyler says, "maybe." He might, and it was good enough that Tyler would hook up with him again, but he's probably not going to go looking for Aiden specifically.

Marshall's asleep on his doggie bed in the corner. Tyler thinks about waking him up and taking him upstairs, but he leaves Marshall where he is and goes upstairs to fall into bed alone.

*

Saturday morning is awkward. Brownie's in the kitchen when Tyler gets up, making eggs and talking to Marshall. That part isn't awkward. What is awkward is the way Brownie looks at him with raised eyebrows and says, "I wasn't out that late last night."

"Uh, yeah?" Tyler knows his cheeks are turning red, and he crouches down to rub behind Marshall's ears instead of trying to look Brownie in the face.

"I didn't need to know that much about your sex life."

Tyler does stand then, and Brownie's mostly just smirking at him, but Tyler still says, "Fuck you, like I've never had to listen to you get laid." The walls in their place aren't that thick, and this isn't the first summer they've spent here.

Brownie laughs and turns away from him to stir the eggs on the stove. "Yeah, but you didn't know what I was doing. I didn't need to know you were that good at sucking cock."

Tyler's cheeks are definitely red now, and probably the rest of him too. "Fuck you."

"Dude," Brownie says, "chill. I don't care if that's what you're into. I'm just chirping you." He smirks. "And trying to figure out what I should say if I ever meet a guy I can set you up with."

Tyler looks up sharply. "Just because I told Jesse doesn't mean you can tell people."

"Relax," Brownie says. "I'm not going to out you."

Out him. There's another thing he doesn't think about. Tries not to think about.

"Someone recognized me." Tyler looks at Marshall as he says it, so he only hears Brownie's silence instead of seeing it.

"What did you do?"

"Told him I was just looking for a quiet place to watch the game and left during the next inning."

"And you still picked up," Brownie says.

Tyler shrugs. "Yeah." Then he asks, "Do you think that was a bad idea?"

"You gotta do what you gotta do," Brownie says. His foot comes into view and he kicks Tyler's ankle. "Eggs are almost done. Stop staring at the dog and make some toast."

Tyler turns away from Marshall and throws some bread in the toaster. When he looks over at Brownie, Brownie isn't even looking at him.

*

Tyler picks up a few more times over the next couple of weeks, and only gets recognized twice more. That he knows of, anyway. They don't even say anything to him, just look at him and do the double-take that people who know who he is do before they decide if they're going to ask him for an autograph or a picture. But recognition is recognition, even if they don't approach him, and he has no way of knowing if there are people noticing him that he doesn't see. Brownie's promise not to out him keeps echoing in his head, and he knows someone's going to do it if he's not careful.

It's with that in mind that Tyler ducks out of going out with the guys on a Friday night and goes over to his mom's for dinner instead. She's alone in the kitchen when he lets himself in, and she smiles at him and comes over to hug him.

"Hi, honey. How are you?"

"Good." Tyler hangs on to the hug for just a little longer than he normally would, which is probably what makes Mom look at him carefully when he lets go.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Tyler tries to smile at her, but it doesn't quite work. "I just need to tell you something."

"Okay, just a second." She goes over and turns something down on the stove. Then she leans on the counter and says, "All right, honey, what is it?"

"I'm, um." This is a lot harder than telling Brownie or Jesse. "I'm gay."

There's one of those horrible moments of silence that he keeps getting when he tells people, and then Mom is hugging him again.

"Okay, honey," she says.

Tyler buries his face in her neck.

"It's okay." She kisses his temple. "I love you."

Tyler holds on tighter. "Thanks, Mom." He's probably dripping tears onto her, but she doesn't let go of him.

"Of course, honey."

"Ty? Mom? What's going on?" Tyler looks up to see Cassidy hovering just inside the kitchen, and then she frowns and leans out of the kitchen to yell, "Candace! Get down here!" She flings herself across the room after she does it and wraps her arms around Tyler.

Tyler shifts his hug more to her than to Mom, and Candace comes clattering down the stairs and into the kitchen a minute later, and then she's piling into the hug too, and the noise must have alerted Jeff because he comes into the kitchen but stays near the door. He's going to have to know, but Tyler picked a weekend when the other girls are at their mom's for a reason.

"What is it?" Cassidy asks. She's looking up at Tyler and her eyes are wide and her cheeks pale.

"It's-" Tyler swallows back the lump in his throat, because he's not going to cry anymore. "It's okay. I was just telling Mom," he still has to hesitate a moment before he finishes the sentence, "that I'm gay."

Cassidy stares at him for a second, and then she pulls back and hits him in the arm.

"Ow!" She hits hard.

"You jerk! You scared me." Cassidy hugs him again and presses her face into his chest. "I thought it was something awful."

Candace hugs him too, and says, "Don't freak us out like that again."

"I promise not to come out to you again," Tyler says, trying hard to joke about it. But it's not really a joke, so he also says, "I told Brownie and Jesse, and I'm going to tell Dad tomorrow, but don't tell people, okay?"

"Duh," Candace says, and Cassidy nods.

"Of course not," Mom says. "Not until you're ready."

"I won't either," Jeff says, and he comes across the room and Tyler has to half let go of the girls so he can accept Jeff's handshake and the squeeze to his shoulder.

"So," Cassidy says after a moment while they all stand there and Tyler blinks away the very last of his tears, "does this mean you have a boyfriend?"

Tyler shoves her away. "Oh my God, _no_. I just wanted you to know."

"Do you want me to set you up?" Candace asks. "I might know somebody."

"How do you-" Tyler decides he doesn't really want the answer to that and cuts off the question. "No, I don't want you to set me up."

Candace just shrugs. "Your loss. Tell me if you change your mind." Tyler has obviously lost her interest, because she says it on her way out of the kitchen.

"I'm not going to change my mind," Tyler calls after her.

"No yelling in the house," Mom says. She goes to the stove and turns it back up. "If you do start dating someone seriously, we expect to meet him."

"Mom!"

She turns and pins him with a look. "We expect the same thing of the girls. It doesn't matter that you're a hockey superstar." She says that with a straight face, which Tyler can't tell if it's better or worse than when his family teases him about being called a superstar. "In this family, you're still my son, and I expect to meet anyone you're serious about."

"Okay," Tyler says. His cheeks are too hot and his hands are too cold. "It's not going to happen anytime soon, but okay."

*

Things going well with the rest of the family makes it easier for Tyler to meet his dad for a round of golf in the morning. Their tee time is a little early for a Saturday morning, but it's worth it to be on the course nearly alone.

Tyler doesn't say much for the first couple of holes. They have coffee, but he's not a morning person and he's still waking up.

He ends up way over par on the fourth, because knowing he's going to tell Dad and not doing it makes him nervous, so on their way to the fifth, he says, "I wanted to talk to you while we're out here."

There are other people on the course by now, but no one too close to them.

"Sure," Dad says. "What's up?"

It's a lot harder to tell him than it was to tell Mom and the girls, and it takes Tyler a minute before he can open his mouth and say, "I'm gay."

Dad stops walking, so Tyler stops too, and he looks down at the grass between their feet.

"Look at me."

Tyler looks up, and meets Dad's eyes. He doesn't look mad, exactly, but he looks at Tyler for long enough that it's uncomfortable.

"Okay, son," he says, and he hugs Tyler quickly.

Tyler starts walking again, and Dad falls into step with him.

"You know," Dad says after a minute, "there isn't anything wrong with it, but it's going to be a media shitstorm if people find out."

"I know." Tyler didn't tell Mom and the girls he came out to them so they would already know if someone who's seen him out says something, and he doesn't tell Dad either. "I'm being careful." This is almost as bad as one of Dad's don't get anyone pregnant talks. "I've only told you, Mom, Jeff, and the girls - just Cassidy and Candace - and Tyler and Jesse."

They've had enough don't get anyone pregnant talks that Dad can probably figure out that Tyler's hooking up with people, but he doesn't say anything about that. All he says is, "Keep being careful," and then, when he's teeing up, "I'm glad you told me," and, "You're a good man."

Tyler has to blink and look away so Dad doesn't see his eyes tearing up.

*

Brownie was out when Tyler got home last night and still asleep when he left this morning, so Tyler doesn't see him until after his post-golf brunch with his dad.

Tyler crouches down to rub behind Marshall's ears when he gets home and then goes into the kitchen where Brownie's standing over the stove.

"You want some? I can throw some more eggs in."

"No." Tyler sits down at the counter. "I already ate."

Brownie rubs a hand over his face. "What were you doing up this morning?"

"Golf and brunch with my dad." Tyler traces meaningless patterns on the counter. "I told him. And my mom and sisters last night." He looks up when Brownie doesn't say anything; Brownie's just staring at him blank-faced. "That I'm gay," Tyler says.

Brownie blinks. "Oh. Oh! How'd it go?"

"Good. I guess." Tyler shrugs. "Everyone was pretty chill about it. Candace offered to set me up."

Brownie laughs. "For real?"

Tyler grins. "Yeah. I told her no."

Brownie grins. "You should go for it. I want to see who she picks for you."

Tyler makes a face. "No way." After Brownie turns to stir the eggs, he says, "My dad said it would be a shitstorm if the media finds out." He can't tell what Brownie thinks from his back, and by the time he turns around, his face is mostly neutral.

"Are you thinking about that?"

"No," Tyler says quickly. "Not really. Not telling people anyway. But we're in Toronto and a couple of people have recognized me."

"I thought it was just the one guy."

"Only one guy who's talked to me," Tyler says.

Brownie dumps his eggs onto a plate and sits next to Tyler. "I don't know, dude. Just be careful, I guess."

"I'm trying." Tyler leans his shoulder against Brownie's for a minute. He's a good best friend.

*

It's not like saying the words gets any easier, but Tyler gets a little less nervous about it, which is why he tells Fred without meaning to.

Fred's over because he wormed a promise of pizza and beer out of Tyler, and Jesse's also over because somehow he got word of it and decided that since his girl had plans with some of her girls, it was the perfect excuse for a guys' night in. He doesn't really follow up on it, so it doesn't become a big thing. Just Tyler, Brownie, Jesse, and Fred hanging out on the couch with pizza, beer, a couple of action movies, and Marshall running around trying to get them to feed him pieces of pepperoni.

"I don't know if you're allowed to have this," Fred says, holding a piece of pepperoni out of Marshall's reach. "But I'm a lot nicer than Tyler, so I'm going to give it to you."

"Stop feeding him," Tyler says. "You're going to spoil him."

Fred ignores him, and Jesse turns to look at him.

"There's no way he can spoil him more than you do."

"I don't spoil him." Tyler calls Marshall over. "I don't spoil you. You know you're not supposed to beg for people food." He rubs behind Marshall's ears. "You can have a treat later, but no more pepperoni." He levels a look at Fred. "No more pepperoni."

Jesse snorts. "You're promising him a treat, and you think he isn't spoiled?"

"He isn't." Tyler pats Marshall and lets go of him. "He gets treats when he's been good, and he's being good."

"I just got a really disturbing picture of what you're going to be like as a dad," Fred says.

"Yeah," Tyler says, "I don't think that's happening."

"Why not? You're famous, you can find some hot chick to marry you and have your kids."

"Um, no," Tyler says. "I'm gay."

"Yeah, right," Fred says. "Stop making excuses. That's totally what's going to happen to you."

Jesse and Brownie don't say anything, but they both look at Tyler.

"Not making excuses," Tyler says. "I really am gay."

Fred stares at him for a second, looks between Jesse and Brownie, and says, "Huh," and then, "You can still have kids. You can't use that as an excuse not to," and then, "You never wanted to get with me, did you?"

"Fuck off." Tyler shoves him. "You wish I wanted to hook up with you."

"He really is a catch," Brownie says with a totally straight face. "I left him alone in a gay bar and five minutes later he left with someone."

Fred lets out a low whistle. "Boy's got some game."

Tyler can feel his cheeks getting red. "Can we please not talk about my game?"

"No," Fred says. "What kind of dudes are you pulling? Do you have to take your shirt off to get them?"

"Oh my God, shut up." Tyler shoves at Fred again, but he has no support because Jesse and Brownie are both laughing at him.

*

There's a new ice cream place that opened up this summer. It's a little bit of a hike, but that helps justify it, and they have doggie treats and dog-friendly outdoor tables, so Tyler and Brownie walk down there with Marshall sometimes. And because he seems to think he still sort of lives with them, Jesse ends up coming with them a lot.

They go on a Tuesday evening after dinner, Marshall trotting ahead of them sniffing at the sidewalk and Tyler pulling back on his leash to keep him from bothering people. They do a short rock-paper-scissors tournament for who has to pay, and since Tyler wins, he saves them a table outside while Brownie and Jesse go inside to order.

The place has a cart with doggie bowls and pitchers of water. Tyler gets Marshall some water and sets it down for him to slurp at, and Marshall flops down at Tyler's feet when he's had enough.

A guy coming out of the shop with an ice cream cone stops by Tyler and says, "That's a gorgeous dog."

Tyler grins, because it's always awesome when people compliment Marshall, and because he was kind of checking the guy out before he stopped to talk. "Thanks."

"Can I?" The guy gestures at Marshall.

"Sure. Be careful of your ice cream."

The guy grins at him and holds his ice cream out of reach as he carefully holds one hand out for Marshall to sniff. He waits for Marshall to approve of him before he pets Marshall and then scratches behind his ears.

"Well-behaved too." The guy stands up and licks at his ice cream where it's starting to drip.

Tyler can't help the way his eyes follows the guy's tongue. "Yeah, he's a good dog. Tired too." Tyler tears his gaze away from the guy to look down at Marshall. "Too hot for this kind of walk, huh?"

Marshall raises his head and looks at him.

"That's right." Tyler rubs behind Marshall's ears and looks up to find the guy looking at him with a look that's somewhere between admiration for good dog ownership and checking him out.

"What's his name?"

"Marshall." Tyler holds out his hand. "I'm Tyler."

"Zack." Zack holds on to his hand for a second too long.

Tyler fumbles for his phone. "Here," he says, "give me your number. Maybe we can hang out sometime when Marshall isn't so tired."

Zack smiles at him and licks at his ice cream before he takes Tyler's phone. "I'd like that." He puts his number in one-handed and is just giving the phone back when Brownie and Jesse come out of the shop.

"My girl is actually here," Jesse says.

"My girl has an awesome internship," Brownie shoots back, and Tyler rolls his eyes because he's heard it before.

"Here." Jesse pushes a cup of ice cream across the table at Tyler.

Tyler puts his phone in his pocket and pulls his ice cream toward him.

"And for the mutt." Brownie hands over a small paper bag. The rustle of it makes Marshall sit up.

Tyler waves at them. "Jesse and Brownie. This is Zack."

They all say hi, and then Zack says, "It was nice to meet you." He mostly looks at Tyler when he says it. "And Marshall."

Jesse and Brownie make agreeing noises, and Tyler says, "Yeah. I'll call you."

Zack says, "I can't wait," and walks away licking at his ice cream cone.

Tyler takes one of the doggie biscuits out of the bag - Brownie got a couple of extras - and gives it to Marshall.

Zack is halfway down the block when Jesse asks, laughing, "Did you just get his number?"

Tyler shrugs. Even though it's early evening, there aren't very many people around, so he feels safe saying, "Dogs aren't just chick magnets."

Jesse laughs. "I saw his face. I don't think it was the dog he was interested in."

*

Tyler calls Zack after lunch on Thursday. "This is Tyler," he says when Zack answers. "We met the other day."

"Tyler," Zack says, "with Marshall. I remember."

Tyler smiles down at Marshall, who's lying next to him on the couch. "I don't know what your schedule's like, if you maybe want to hang out with Marshall and me."

"That'd be cool," Zack says. "What were you thinking?"

"I don't know," Tyler says. "There's a dog park we like to go to."

"Yeah? That sounds good. I'm not working today, if you were thinking this afternoon or something."

They make plans to meet there at three, and Tyler hangs up and looks down at Marshall. "We're going on a date."

Marshall lifts his head, but doesn't have any other reaction because he's a dog. Tyler pats his back and says, "I know you're always good, but you really have to behave yourself, okay?"

Marshall noses at Tyler's chest, and Tyler pats him again.

*

It's not really that far - they've walked it before - but Tyler drives so Marshall can tire himself out all he wants in the park. He puts Marshall on his leash, but they've been there enough that Marshall recognizes the park and tugs Tyler through it to the dog bowl.

Tyler lets Marshall off his leash when they get there. Zack isn't there yet, so Tyler settles onto a bench and lets Marshall run off and socialize with the other dogs. He's keeping an eye on Marshall, so he doesn't see Zack until he comes around the bench and says, "Hey."

"Hey!" Tyler stands up. "You found us."

"I did." Zack checks him out, and he's smiling when he meets Tyler's eyes again. "I haven't been here in ages."

"It's a good place to bring Marshall." Tyler takes a couple of steps forward and whistles for Marshall, who comes over and seems to remember Zack enough to let him pet him.

"I see that." Zack laughs when Marshall tries to lick him. He has a nice laugh. "He's a little more energetic today."

"We drove," Tyler says, "so he could use all his energy running around."

Zack lets Marshall go, and he stands up and Tyler pats at Marshall's head before Marshall runs back toward the other dogs.

"Nice." Zack shades his eyes and watches Marshall nose at a Golden Retriever. "You guys come here a lot?"

"Some." Tyler waves Zack back toward the bench he'd been sitting on. It's in the shade, and he can keep an eye on Marshall while they talk. "A lot of times we just walk around the neighborhood or I take him over to run around in my mom's backyard, but sometimes he has a lot of energy, and I don't want him to forget how to behave around other dogs over the summer."

"Ah," Zack says, "not a year-round Toronto resident then, but you grew up here?"

"Yeah. In Brampton."

"Brampton? The suburbs."

Tyler shrugs. "Yeah, but I went to school in Toronto."

Zack grins at him. "That doesn't make you any less of a suburban kid to those of us who grew up in the heart of the city."

Tyler smiles back at him. "I live in the heart of the city now. For the summers, anyway."

"It'd have to be the heart of the city if you can walk here." Zack looks around. "I could probably walk it, but it'd be a long walk. And I'm only here in the summers now too."

Tyler glances over to make sure Marshall's still having fun and behaving himself, and then looks Zack over. "University?"

"Good guess. English major at Queen's."

"That's not too far away, right?"

"Couple of hours. It's nice at holidays, but not so close Mom and Dad can drop in." Zack nudges Tyler's ankle and leaves his foot next to Tyler's. "How about you? Where are you when you're not here?"

"Farther away," Tyler says. "Boston."

"Boston? What could take a nice," Zack's eyes travel over Tyler's body in a way that makes his cheeks heat, "suburban Ontario kid to Boston?"

Tyler bites his lip for a second. He doesn't want to lie. He doesn't get a chance to decide what he's going to say, because a couple of kids nudging each other and ignoring the Boxer on a leash one of them is holding come up to him.

"Hi," one of the kids says.

Tyler smiles at them. This he knows how to do, and it decides for him which way things are going to go with Zack. "Hi."

"You're Tyler Seguin," the kid who seems to be the spokesman says.

"I am." Tyler keeps smiling at them and doesn't look at Zack. He has a Sharpie in his pocket because it's instinct to grab one before he leaves the house. He takes it out and says, "You guys want me to sign something?"

They all do, and he signs a t-shirt and a pair of hats. While he does it, he asks, "Do you play hockey?"

"Yes!" The kids scramble over each other to tell him about how they play outdoors here in the winter and on teams during most of the year.

"I want to play in the NHL like you," one of them says.

Tyler grins at him. "You can do it, but you have to work really, really hard."

The kid nods very seriously. "I will."

One of the other kids pulls out a phone. "Can we get a picture too?"

"For sure." Tyler turns to Zack, who's just been watching them and doesn't seem upset about the interruption. "Can you take it?"

"Of course." Zack takes the phone and steps back a little before he tells them all to gather in close and smile. He takes a couple of photos and gives the phone back to the kid.

The kids all say, "Thank you," and Tyler waves at them as they head out across the park.

"So that's what's in Boston," Zack says.

"Yeah," Tyler says. He doesn't quite look at Zack. "That's what's in Boston."

Zack nudges him with his shoulder. "At least it's not a boyfriend. Or, like, a wife."

Tyler laughs and looks up at Zack smiling at him. "No, nothing like that." He rubs a hand over his hair. "It probably keeps me just as busy, though."

Zack leans back a little and stretches his legs out in front of him. "All the more reason to enjoy your summer, eh?"

Tyler lets his eyes travel up from Zack's shoes to his face. "Yeah. This looks like a good one."

Zack's smile turns a little more flirtatious, and they look at each other for a couple of long moments before Tyler tears his gaze away to check on Marshall. Marshall's fine - he really is good with other dogs - and Tyler's cheeks are a little less heated when he looks at Zack again.

They talk for a while, lazy conversation about their families and growing up in Toronto and dogs, and Tyler keeps checking on Marshall every couple of minutes until Marshall turns away from the other dogs and comes over to flop onto the grass at Tyler's feet.

Tyler bends over to rub his head. "Hey, buddy. Did you tire yourself out?"

"I'll bet he did." Zack also leans over to pet Marshall, and their hands tangle for a brief, electric moment. "You were running around a lot out there."

They pet Marshall until his panting eases.

"I should probably take him home," Tyler says. "Get him out of the heat."

Zack pats Marshall. "Probably for the best."

They stand, and Tyler clips on Marshall's leash. "We're that way."

"I'm that way." Zack points in the opposite direction. "But this was fun. We should do this again sometime."

"Yeah," Tyler says. "Definitely. Or dinner."

Zack smiles at him and brushes his hand over Tyler's wrist, so quick it's almost unnoticeable. "Definitely. Call me."

Tyler says, "I will," and watches Zack walk away for a minute before he nudges Marshall toward the path.

*

Tyler texts Zack a few times over the next couple of days. Marshall is a good conversation starter, and he sends a couple of photos of Marshall looking adorable, and one of him with Marshall that Zack replies to with, _Cute!_

It's not just Marshall. Zack complains about the heat and Tyler sends back a picture of the rink, which gets him a picture of the inside of a GAP. _Best thing about work,_ Zack says, _is the ac._

Tyler tries talking about the Jays and gets, _You're on your own there. Watching sports isn't really my thing. I used to play tennis in high school,_ from Zack.

Tyler thinks for a while before he sends back, _Tennis? Bet you looked cute in the shorts. ;)_ It seems a little risky, but they're definitely talking, and flirting sometimes, and Zack sends back, _Better than all the pads you wear in hockey. ;)_

Tyler sends, _I make them look good_ , and then calls Zack.

Zack answers with, "How good?"

Tyler laughs. "Hey, those pads are hot."

"I'm going to need proof of that."

"I'll find you a picture. Do you want to have dinner?"

"I would love to," Zack says. "I'm closing tonight and tomorrow, but we could do Wednesday."

"Awesome. Have you ever been to Benihana? It's in the Fairmont, which is kind of cheesy, I guess, but it's good."

"Swanky," Zack says.

"We don't have to if you don't want," Tyler says. "But the food is good, and it's fun, and I'd like to take you there."

Zack laughs a little. "I didn't say I wasn't into it. I'll meet you there, and you'd better look good."

Tyler says, "I always look good," and they decide on dinner at seven.

As soon as they hang up, Tyler calls and makes a reservation, and then he pulls up Google and looks for a picture of himself in pads. That takes a while, because there are a lot of pictures of him, but he saves the best one of him in pads to his phone and sends it to Zack later, just about when Zack is probably getting off work.

Zack sends back, _Hot,_ and it leaves Tyler grinning down at his phone until Brownie kicks him.

"Still texting ice cream guy?"

"Zack," Tyler says. He's still not comfortable enough about it for his cheeks to keep from heating as he talks about it. "We're going out on Wednesday."

"Dating," Brownie says. "That's a little different from your hookup strategy."

Tyler kicks him. "I've dated before."

"Yeah, girls."

"And Noah, in Biel." Tyler shrugs. "I like Zack."

"It's like you're growing up," Brownie says.

Tyler laughs. "Shut up. I'm plenty grown-up."

*

Grown-up or not, Tyler's nervous when he walks down the street to Benihana on Wednesday. Tyler's early and Zack's not there yet, and there are a couple of people in the waiting area looking at him. No one approaches him, and he's only there a few minutes before Zack shows up.

Zack checks him out and smiles. "You look good."

It's not dark enough in the place to hide the way Tyler's cheeks are turning red, which only makes it worse. "You too." He means it; Zack's in khakis and a light blue shirt that makes him look really good. Tyler lets the hostess know they're there, and then they stand to the side, out of the way of the flow of people, and wait for their table to be called.

"So," Zack says, "I worked today. Your day had to have been more interesting."

"Not really," Tyler says. "I mean, we worked out and had a skate this morning, but that's pretty much it."

"We?" Zack asks.

"I train with Brownie and Jesse and a bunch of other guys in the summer."

"Ah," Zack says. "You're right. That isn't more interesting." He says it with a grin that makes Tyler grin back at him. "Unless they're all really hot. How hot are they?"

Tyler laughs and leans in a little. "I'm not out to dinner with any of them."

Zack's grin turns into more of a soft smile, and then the hostess calls for them and they follow her and a group of other people to their table.

They're still in public, but the people they're sharing a table with are having their own party and ignore them for the most part, which means Tyler can sit close to Zack and they can have their own conversation. Zack tells him stories about his day over the soup and salad, and then all conversation stops while their chef shows off his knife skills and cooks and flips food onto plates.

Zack leans close and says, "This is great," while the chef is at the other end of the table.

Tyler smiles and risks squeezing Zack's knee. "I told you it was fun."

They get offered a dessert menu after dinner, and Zack looks it over and says, "Tempting, but I don't know if I can eat anything else ever again."

Tyler laughs. "We could walk down for ice cream instead."

"Never eating ever again," Zack says.

"Come on. It's nice out, we'll go for a walk. You might be ready for ice cream by then." Tyler licks his lips. "I want ice cream, anyway, and if you don't, you can just watch me eat mine."

"Wow," Zack says after a second. "That was dirty pool. Okay, let's go get some ice cream."

Tyler pays for dinner, and they head out. It's warm out, but not too hot to walk for a bit, and they sort of amble down the street. They've barely made it a block before Zack unbuttons his collar and cuffs and rolls his sleeves up. He's not as built as the guys Tyler sees most of the time, but he's the guy Tyler's on a date with, and that makes his eyes linger on Zack's bared wrists and forearms. He wishes he could hold Zack's hand, but he settles for brushing his hand across the back of Zack's wrist for a second before pulling his hand back.

Zack smiles sidelong at him and after they cross the street, Tyler gives in to the heat and Zack's looks and unbuttons a couple of buttons and rolls his sleeves up.

"Now that's something you can get away with that I'd never manage," Zack says. His fingers trace one of the lines of Tyler's tattoo in a touch that doesn't last long enough. "Not working retail, anyway."

"Yeah, that's true," Tyler says. "No one really cares if I have tattoos. A bunch of guys have them."

"I know this goes all the way up your arm," Zack says. "Just how much ink do you have?"

"Uh, just the sleeve, and one on my side." Tyler puts a hand over his Cup tattoo. "Thinking about more, though."

"Okay," Zack says, "I know tattoos are just a thing people do now, but what's the appeal for you?"

"I don't know." Tyler shrugs. "They're important things I guess. This one's about my family," he puts his hand over the dates on his arm, "and one about my team. I, uh, like how it feels too."

"Doesn't it hurt?"

"Yeah, but, like, it's a good kind of hurt. Like, you know it's changing you."

They stop to wait for a light, and Zack turns to look at him. Tyler tries not to let it make his cheeks any redder. Zack's look is serious, and then it turns into a bright grin.

"What?"

"Just you," Zack says. "You're all tough guy with your tattoos, and then you turn bright red. It's cute." Zack steps off the curb and Tyler has to take a quick few steps to catch up with him.

"It's embarrassing." Tyler puts his hands up to cover his cheeks.

"Cute," Zack says firmly. He pulls Tyler's arms down, and the heat of his touch lingers on Tyler's skin.

They take a few steps in silence, separate to go around a couple that's glued to each other and taking up the middle of the sidewalk.

"Now you have to tell me something," Tyler says.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Something. Anything."

"Mmm." Zack tilts his head toward Tyler. "I don't know what I'm going to do with my life. I mean, not surprising, right? I'm an English major and I work retail in the summer. None of us know what we want to do with our lives."

"I guess most people don't know when they're our age," Tyler says.

"Enough of them," Zack says. "I've got another year to figure it out, and I signed up for this program where you work with elementary kids, so maybe I'll like that and end up teaching."

"You'd get summers off."

Zack laughs. "Is that why you chose hockey?"

"No. I love hockey. It's the only thing I ever wanted to do. And I still have to work out in the summer."

Zack prods him into telling stories about growing up with hockey, and Tyler gets him to tell a couple of stories about playing tennis, and that takes them all the way to the ice cream shop.

"What do you think?" Tyler asks when they're inside and looking at today's flavors. "Ice cream or still never eating again?"

Zack taps the display case glass. "I don't think I can resist this." He orders a scoop of chocolate amaretto in a cone, and Tyler chooses the cherry chocolate chunk, also in a cone.

Zack pushes Tyler's hand away when he tries to pay. "You bought dinner. This is my treat." He nudges Tyler aside and hands over his card, and Tyler can't really protest at that point.

They take their ice cream outside and sit at one of the tables, knees bumping together under it. Tyler licks at his ice cream and watches Zack's fingers curved around his cone and his tongue drag through his ice cream.

"Good?"

Zack licks his lips. "Yep. You can't go wrong with chocolate. How's yours?"

"Good. It's kind of like Cherry Garcia." Tyler licks at it. "And the company's good."

Zack's lips turn up at the corners. "Can't argue with that."

They don't talk much while they eat, but it's a good kind of quiet. They watch each other, and there's a kind of tension stretching between them that Tyler's more than okay with.

"If you want to walk back," Tyler says when they're done, "I can drive you home."

"You should definitely drive me home," Zack says, and when they're halfway down the block and no one's close enough to hear them, he says, "I like your idea of a date."

Tyler smiles and wishes again that he could hold Zack's hand. "Good." He waits for a couple of people to pass them before he asks, "Does that mean I'm going to get a goodnight kiss?"

"I'd say there's a good chance of that." Zack smirks at him. "My parents' driveway is very dark."

Tyler's sorry they walked so far for dessert, and relieved when they get back to his building and he can turn them into the garage.

Zack lets out a low whistle when they get to the car. "Nice."

Tyler grins at him, and again when Zack gets in and rubs his hands over the leather seats.

"So this is what hockey money gets you."

Tyler laughs. "Yeah, I guess. I always wanted a nice car, so when I could, I bought one."

"It's very nice," Zack says, low and appreciative enough to make Tyler shiver.

Zack gives him directions, and Tyler can feel Zack watching him as he drives. Tyler turns into Zack's driveway, and once he turns off the headlights, it really is very dark.

"I told you," Zack says as Tyler blinks to try to adjust his eyes. "I figured you didn't want to do this anywhere people could take cell phone pictures."

"No," Tyler says, and Zack's already leaning across the console toward him, so he goes the rest of the way and kisses Zack for the first time. He hasn't really done this since high school, but it's not hard to figure it out again. The kissing is the most important part, and he gets his arms around Zack and Zack gets one hand into Tyler's hair. It's all that tension from when they were eating ice cream breaking into heated kisses. Tyler's starting to get hard, but that doesn't seem as important as kissing Zack.

They're both panting when Zack pulls away. "Okay," he says. "That was- I should probably go."

Tyler swallows down his disappointment. "Oh, yeah, okay."

Zack leans in and kisses him again, shorter this time, and he resists Tyler's attempt to take it deeper. "Thank you for dinner. I'll call you."

Tyler waits for Zack to get into the house, and then he turns the car on and drives home in something of a daze.

He only sort of snaps out of it when Marshall greets him at the door.

"Date can't have been that good," Brownie says with just a glance away from his video game, "if you're home alone already."

Tyler takes his shoes off and leaves them lined up with the rest of their shoes. "No," he says, "it was good." He touches his fingers to his lips. "Really good." Tyler doesn't really want to talk to him about it though, so he says, "I'm going to bed. Night," and goes up the stairs.

"Uh, night," Brownie says after him.

Tyler goes to his room and flops down across his bed. It was really good. He can still feel the ghost of Zack's lips on his.

Tyler takes his phone out of his pocket and types out, _I had a great time!!!_ and sends it to Zack with a smiley face.

He's kind of idly rubbing himself through his pants, thinking about jerking off, when his phone buzzes.

Zack's text says, _Next time will be even better,_ and there's a winky face after it.

Tyler grins at his phone like an idiot for a minute before he turns it off and unbuttons his pants.

*

Tyler doesn't have to wait long for Zack to call him. It's only the next afternoon that he looks down at his phone buzzing and grins when he sees Zack's name. He tosses his controller at Jesse and takes his phone out onto the balcony so Brownie and Jesse can't listen in on his conversation.

"I'm not so cool I could wait to call you," Zack says.

Tyler grins. "Being cool is overrated."

Zack laughs. "Let's go out again. How do you feel about clubs?"

"Love them." Tyler leans his elbows on the railing and looks down at the city while he talks.

"There's a place called Woody's on Church Street."

"I've been there," Tyler admits.

"Good," Zack says. "That means you'll go again. I have to close tomorrow, but the party doesn't get started until late anyway and I don't have to work until the afternoon on Saturday. How about it?"

"Yes," Tyler says. He doesn't have any plans, and even if he did, he would cancel them to go clubbing with Zack instead. "Want me to pick you up?"

"Again and again," Zack says, kind of laughing at him. "But, yes. My place at ten. Wear something hot."

"Everything I wear is hot."

"Mmm," Zack says. "That is true, but I mean the kind of thing that would be hot on anyone. Not your pads."

"Not the pads," Tyler says. "I won't be able to get close enough to you with pads."

*

Time doesn't drag, exactly, but Tyler finds himself looking forward to Friday night for the rest of the day, and into Friday. He makes dinner on Friday, and Brownie teases him about his date while they eat.

Tyler does his best to ignore it, and he escapes to get dressed way before he actually needs to. It's not like there's much to choose - his best jeans and a black v-neck have been good enough so far - and even spending a couple of extra minutes making sure his hair looks good doesn't take that much time.

He ends up sitting on his bed playing Fruit Ninja for a while, until his phone beeps with a reminder that it is actually time to leave.

"Let me see," Brownie says when Tyler gets downstairs, and Tyler does a slow turn for him that brings him back to a skeptical look on Brownie's face. "You're nothing special."

Tyler flips him off. "It was good enough to get me laid before." He puts on his shoes, says goodbye to Marshall, and heads down to the car.

It's not much of a drive to Zack's place, and Tyler gets there just before ten. He turns off the car, takes a deep breath, and goes up to knock on the door.

Zack answers it, in dark blue jeans that mold to his hips and a white v-neck that shows off his shoulders.

"Wow," Tyler says. "Hi."

Zack grins at him. "Hi." He pushes Tyler backwards and turns to close the door, giving Tyler a chance to look at what his jeans are doing to his ass. It's something good.

Zack grins again when he turns around and catches Tyler checking him out.

Tyler just grins back and waves him toward the car.

The drive is comfortable, and Tyler finds a parking space a couple of blocks away from Woody's. They still can't hold hands on the walk there, but they walk close enough that their arms brush, and from the looks they get from some of the other men out walking around, they probably look like they're together.

Tyler holds the door for Zack, who smiles at him, and then takes his hand as soon as they're inside. "Shots first," Zack says. "Then dancing."

Tyler grins back at him, because that sounds like his kind of evening, and lets Zack drag him to one of the bars. Zack orders them each a pair of vodka shots, and doesn't let Tyler pay for them. They clink their glasses together and throw back their first shots, then the second.

Tyler grabs Zack's wrist when he puts the second glass down on the bar. "Dancing?"

"Yes." Zack pulls against Tyler's hold until they're holding hands and leads Tyler out onto the dance floor.

Tyler's not the best dancer, but he does okay, and he knows how to have fun on a dance floor. It helps that Zack also knows what he's doing, and that it doesn't take long before they've moved into the crowd and the press of people keeps them pressed close together. It's where Tyler wants to be anyway. He puts his hands on Zack's hips, and Zack slides one arm around him, and then they're pressed so close together their dancing turns into grinding.

It's warm in the club, or dancing with Zack is making him warm. It's the kind of heat that makes him want to be a little reckless, and he loses track of anything but the music and Zack's body. He holds on to reality just enough to remember that there are things he shouldn't be doing in public.

He bends in close to Zack's ear and asks, "Want to get out of here?"

"Yes."

They somehow ended up in the middle of the dance floor, so it takes them a few minutes to make their way out of it, into the slightly less crowded areas of the club. Tyler holds Zack's hand and pulls him along until they get to the door, where he lets go and holds the door for Zack.

They're both sweaty and flushed from dancing, and Tyler wants to kiss Zack more than anything, but he can't on the street.

"I live with my parents," Zack says as they set out toward the car, "so my place is out."

Tyler sucks in a breath, because that's an invitation to more than just making out. "We can go to my place."

"Good," Zack says, "because I really want to get you alone."

Tyler drives home with both hands on the wheel. If he doesn't keep them there, he'll reach for Zack.

They manage to keep their hands off of each other in the garage, the elevator, and the hall, but the minute the apartment door is closed, Zack is pulling Tyler in and kissing him. Tyler makes a noise into Zack's mouth, and he puts his hands on Zack to get him closer, tilt his head to a better angle.

Marshall interrupts, and Tyler and Zack break apart to look down at him.

"Hey, buddy." Tyler rubs at the top of Marshall's head.

"You're adorable," Zack says, reaching down to do the same, "but you're a horrible cockblock."

Tyler laughs and grabs Zack's hand. "We should go upstairs anyway." He shoos Marshall back to his bed and takes Zack up the stairs.

Zack pauses halfway up and says, "You have a bed on the landing."

"Yeah," Tyler says. "Weird, but it's extra space when friends crash or whatever."

"Or if you can't wait to get all the way to the top."

Tyler squeezes Zack's hand. "Come on. My bed is bigger."

Zack takes two steps at once and they dash up the rest of the stairs laughing.

Tyler kisses Zack at the top of the stairs, and they keep kissing into Tyler's room where he flips on the light and swings the door closed.

Zack breaks away and laughs. "When you said your bed was bigger, this wasn't what I was expecting."

Tyler shrugs. "It just means we're going to have to be really close."

"I can get behind that." Zack kisses Tyler, then runs his mouth over Tyler's jaw and down to his neck.

During the season, he'll have to be more careful, but no one's going to care if he has stubble burn or hickeys in the summer, so Tyler tips his head back and lets Zack mouth at his neck. He slides his hands up the back of Zack's shirt, which makes Zack hum into his neck and then nip at his skin.

Zack stops kissing his neck and tips Tyler's head down so their lips can meet. He licks into Tyler's mouth, and Tyler follows his tongue back to Zack's mouth. He can taste Zack and the faintest hint of the shots they did.

Tyler tugs at Zack and walks them over to the bed. He lets go and lies down, taking up most of the space and looking up at Zack. "Come on," he says. "Plenty of room."

Zack shakes his head, and kind of laughs, and also puts his knees on either side of Tyler's hips. "How close do we have to get?" He leans down and kisses Tyler without moving closer anywhere else.

"A lot closer than that." Tyler puts his arms around Zack and pulls him down. Zack's knees slide down along his thighs until they're on either side of Tyler's knees and Zack's all the way on top of him. "Like this."

"This is pretty close."

It is, close enough that Tyler can see every tiny shift of muscle in Zack's face, the way his eyelashes look when he blinks. "Too close?"

"No." Zack nips at Tyler's bottom lip. "Just about right." He stops talking and kisses Tyler, both of them doing their best to make it as wet and deep as possible. Kissing Zack is even better this way, with Zack on top of him and Zack's cock pressing into his hip through two layers of denim.

It's mostly just kissing. Tyler has his arms around Zack, and Zack has one hand on Tyler's face and the other on his side just above the waistband of his jeans, but they're not really groping each other, or even rubbing against each other except for the little movements as they shift position as they make out.

"Wait, wait," Zack gasps. He sits up, on his knees over Tyler. "Can I?" He puts his hands at Tyler's fly, and when Tyler nods at him, he unbuttons Tyler's jeans and draws the zipper down. Tyler watches his face, so he knows that Zack's looking at his hands, at Tyler's hips as he lifts them so Zack can pull his jeans and boxer briefs down over his cock.

Zack's eyes flicker up to Tyler's face for a second, and then back down to watch as he takes Tyler's cock in his hand.

"Fuck," Tyler says when Zack strokes him, root to tip. He props himself up on his elbows. "Come here. You're not close enough."

Zack leans over to kiss him, but doesn't get any closer.

"No, come on." Tyler stays on one elbow and wraps his other arm around Zack's back. "I want to touch you too."

Zack leans down, and then he tips them to the side. There's a moment where Tyler's arm around Zack is the only thing that keeps them from falling off the bed, but then they're lying down, facing each other, and firmly enough on the bed that Tyler can let go of Zack and use his hands to get Zack's jeans open and his cock bared.

Zack's cock is hot and heavy in Tyler's hand, and he hitches himself closer so he can kiss Zack while they stroke each other.

"Maybe this small bed isn't a bad idea," Zack says with a grin.

"It's working out for me." Tyler kisses Zack, and nudges at Zack's chin so he can suck at Zack's neck.

"Oh, God," Zack moans. "Don't stop doing that."

Tyler grins at sucks at another spot. "This?" He runs his thumb over the head of Zack's cock. "Or this?"

"Both of them." Zack tips his head down and kisses Tyler. "But don't give me a hickey. I have to work tomorrow."

Tyler laughs and sucks at Zack's neck, jerks him off slow and easy. He keeps up the same easy rhythm, but it's getting Zack there. It's getting both of them there, so hot to watch Zack fall apart under his hands and mouth while Zack's hand falters on his cock.

"Tyler," Zack murmurs. "Baby, that's so good."

Tyler moves his hand a little faster. "Yeah," he says. "You're so hot like this. Let me see you come." He sucks at Zack's neck, almost hard enough to leave a mark.

"Oh, fuck," Zack moans. "Oh, baby, yes."

Tyler moves his mouth and sucks at a different spot on Zack's neck.

Zack moans without words and comes all over Tyler's hand.

"Tyler," he says after a minute. "That was so good." He kisses Tyler, sloppy and wet, and squeezes his cock. "Baby, I'm going to make you feel so good." The rhythm, when he starts moving his hand, is faster than what Tyler was using with him, a quick wrist movement that runs his fingers up and down the vein on the underside and up over the head of his cock.

"Zack," Tyler gasps. He wants to say his name before he comes, let Zack know he knows who's getting him off.

"That's it, baby." Zack kisses him, stealing his breath, and Tyler comes with a groan Zack licks out of his mouth.

Zack lets go of Tyler's cock before the touch becomes too much, but they keep kissing. It becomes more focused as the fuzziness of Tyler's orgasm wears off, and Tyler leans up over Zack to grab a handful of tissues from the box next to the bed.

They clean up enough that it's not completely gross anymore, and Tyler leans over Zack to toss the tissues into the trash can.

Zack slides a hand up Tyler's stomach and under his shirt while he's there. Tyler grins down at him and holds himself up on his arms so Zack can keep touching him.

"We didn't even get naked," Zack says.

Tyler rolls back to the other side of the bed. "We could do that now."

Zack says, "Good idea," and they scramble out of their clothes without elbowing each other or falling off the bed.

Tyler reaches out once they're naked and runs his hand over Zack's chest, and up over his shoulder. He has really nice shoulders.

"Damn," Zack says. "You really can make anything look good."

Tyler blushes, like he wasn't already flushed enough from getting off. "You too," he says.

Zack grins at him, and then yawns. "I'm one of those guys who falls asleep after sex if you don't kick me out right away."

"I'm not kicking you out." Tyler gets up and turns off the light, and then gets back into bed and puts his arm around Zack's shoulders. "We have to be close in this bed."

"Oh, yeah?" Zack scoots in even closer, so their knees are bumping together and his head is right at the curve of Tyler's neck. "Close enough?"

"Yeah," Tyler says. "Yeah, that's good."

*

Tyler's back is kind of cold when he wakes up in the morning, but his front is all warm where Zack is, and there are moving spots of warmth where Zack's running his fingers over Tyler's side.

Tyler opens his eyes, and Zack is watching him from really close.

"Oh, good, you're awake. I was thinking about blowing you."

Tyler groans and squeezes his eyes shut. "You're a morning person."

Zack laughs softly. "And you're not, I guess." He pats Tyler's hip. "That's okay. You just lie there and I'll make you feel good." He pushes Tyler over onto his back, and Tyler can hear the rustle of the sheets as Zack moves.

That's all the warning Tyler has before Zack takes him into his mouth. Tyler's already kind of hard just from it being morning, and Zack's mouth feels really good. Zack's not doing anything fancy, just holding Tyler in his mouth and sucking a little bit. He did say Tyler didn't have to do anything, so he doesn't, keeps his eyes closed and listens to the slight sounds of Zack sucking him. He blinks his eyes open once, and looks at Zack's mouth around his cock, Zack's slightly hollowed cheeks, and closes his eyes again and keeps that image in his mind while Zack works him over.

It seems like it takes a long time, but Tyler's not at his best in the morning, so maybe it's not that long before he's warning Zack that he's about to come. Zack sucks harder, and when Tyler comes, it's in warm waves that don't seem that urgent.

Zack swallows, and Tyler opens his eyes after a minute or two to look at Zack's red, red lips and the satisfied smile on his face.

"Come here." Tyler pulls Zack up and kisses him. It's kind of gross with come and morning breath, but he kind of doesn't care. Zack's hard against his thigh, and after a few seconds of kissing, Tyler pushes Zack down onto his back and moves down the bed. He looks up to make sure Zack is paying attention, and then he takes Zack's cock into his mouth, as much of it as he can at once.

Tyler knows what he looks like this, and he knows he's pretty good at sucking cock, and he really wants to make Zack feel good. He doesn't hold back at all, gives it his best effort, and it isn't long before Zack is moaning and saying, "Baby, yes, just like that."

Zack warns him before he comes, and Tyler just sucks harder, wanting to take Zack all the way there with his mouth. Tyler swallows when Zack comes, licks his lips to get the last traces that he almost misses.

"Fuck," Zack says. "Fuck, that was so good."

Tyler can't disagree with that at all. He crawls up the bed and lies down next to Zack, pressed close so they both fit on his bed.

Zack strokes his cheek. "I'm really glad I stopped to talk to you and Marshall."

Tyler smiles at him, because he's really glad too. He tugs Zack even closer and kisses him. Zack kisses him back for a while before he stops and says, "Okay, this is getting gross. Do you have a spare toothbrush?"

"Yeah. Cupboard in the bathroom."

Zack kisses his cheek and gets out of bed.

Tyler closes his eyes and dozes for a bit while Zack is gone, and doesn't open his eyes again until Zack kisses his cheek, and this time Tyler can smell the mint on his breath.

"Okay," Tyler groans. "I'm getting up."

Zack grins at him and starts picking up clothes off the floor. Tyler takes a moment to appreciate his body before he goes to brush his teeth and take a quick shower.

His bedroom is empty when he goes back to it, and he throws on some clothes and goes downstairs. Zack's in the kitchen, sitting at the counter in his clothes from last night, watching Brownie make eggs. Tyler stops for a second and bends down to scratch behind Marshall's ears before he keeps walking toward them.

"Good morning," Brownie says, and Tyler knows him well enough to know Brownie's making fun of him.

"Morning. You better be making enough for all of us." Tyler stops at the counter to put his arm around Zack for a moment. Whatever. Brownie already knows he's gay, and that he and Zack hooked up last night.

"Yep," Brownie says. "But you're making protein shakes." He turns back to the stove, so Tyler kisses Zack's neck before he goes around the counter and gets out the blender.

"Do you want some?"

The face Zack makes wrinkles up his nose. "No, I'll leave that to you two."

Tyler makes protein shakes for two and leaves one of them on the counter for Brownie and takes the other with him when he goes around to sit next to Zack. "You sure you don't want some?" Tyler sips at his shake and licks his lips after.

Zack glances at Brownie, who is very pointedly not looking at them, and says, "Maybe just a taste." He doesn't take Tyler's glass, but he does lean in and kiss Tyler, his tongue sweeping through Tyler's mouth.

Tyler's too aware of Brownie in the kitchen with them to let it go on very long, but it's a good kiss anyway, and it leaves him flushed and grinning into his protein shake.

There's a barely suppressed smirk on Brownie's face when he puts plates of eggs and toast in front of them and the ketchup next to Tyler's plate.

"Thank you," Zack says. "This looks good."

"Thanks," Tyler says, and he probably means it even more than Zack, because he's thanking Brownie for way more than just making breakfast for all three of them.

"No problem," Brownie says, and the look he gives Tyler means he also means more than just breakfast.

That part of the conversation seems to go over Zack's head, and they don't really talk while they eat. Tyler turns out to be starving now that he's thinking about food, and he makes more toast and spreads peanut butter on it when he's done with his eggs.

"I really want to make a joke about protein," Zack says in an undertone when Brownie gets up to put his plate away.

Tyler snickers and holds out his toast for Zack to take a bite of.

Brownie rolls his eyes at both of them, but he also takes their plates too, so he's still the best friend Tyler's ever had.

"I should get home," Zack says with a sigh. "I have to work later, and I should probably reassure my parents I'm not dead." He looks down at himself. "And change my clothes."

Tyler licks the last of the peanut butter off his fingers - Zack's eyes follow the motion in a really gratifying way - and slides off his stool. "I'll drive you."

Brownie says goodbye to Zack and stays in the kitchen while Tyler and Zack go out to the living room to put on their shoes.

Zack takes a moment with Marshall too, rubs behind his ears and says, "Sorry we didn't spend much time with you, buddy. Maybe next time." Then he stands up and pushes Tyler against the door. "I have to kiss you now. The driveway won't be dark."

Tyler grins and tugs Zack in by his belt loops.

They kiss open-mouthed and slow for a long moment that isn't long enough before Zack lets go and steps back so Tyler can open the door.

Tyler holds Zack's hand in the car, and when they get to Zack's, Zack squeezes his hand and gives him a look that says they'd be making out again if it weren't so light out.

"Call me," Zack says.

"Yes," Tyler says, and he has to make himself let go so Zack can get out of the car.

*

"So," Brownie says when Tyler gets home. "Boyfriend?"

Tyler blushes. "Kind of, I guess? I don't know. That was only our third date."

"He seems nice," Brownie says.

"Uh, yeah, he is." Tyler can't help smiling.

"And from what I had to hear, the sex is good."

"Oh my God, shut up."

Brownie laughs. "You learn to shut up. Our walls aren't that thick."

"You don't have to listen."

"It's hard not to when you're loud enough to wake me up." Brownie smirks at him. "I should have known. You were never this loud with girls."

"I hate you," Tyler says.

"No you don't," Brownie says with an easy grin. He tosses Tyler one of the Xbox controllers. "You have to love me. No one else would put up with listening to that."

Tyler sits down on the couch with his controller. "Like you and Julie aren't just as bad."

Brownie shrugs and starts the game. "You've never complained before."

"Because I'm a better person than you are."

Brownie laughs. "Keep telling yourself that."

*

Zack texts Tyler that day, during one of his breaks at work, and they keep up a steady conversation, interspersed with dates and spending nights at Tyler's at least once a week.

It's good. It's _fun_ , and it keeps a smile on Tyler's face, even when he comes out of tough conditioning days that leave him otherwise wrung out.

Tyler gets recognized while they're out a few times, but he just smiles for pictures and signs autographs, and is careful not to be too obvious about what his relationship with Zack is when they're in public.

They're lying in Tyler's bed late one afternoon near the end of August, Zack tracing his fingers over Tyler's chest and Tyler with his eyes closed, when Zack says, "Hey," and Tyler opens his eyes because that wasn't just a casual "Hey."

"What?"

Zack sits up, his hand sliding over Tyler's chest again. "This has been really good."

Tyler sits up too, and says, "It has," to cover the sinking feeling in his stomach.

Zack sighs and leans forward to kiss him. "It's not going to last, though, is it?"

Tyler closes his eyes and says, "No, I guess not." They haven't talked about the future, Tyler didn't even take Zack to meet his family, and training camp for Tyler and school for Zack start soon.

Zack kisses him softly. "Hey," he says, "don't be sad." He rubs his hands over Tyler's shoulders. "It was fun. We had a good summer." He kisses Tyler a little deeper. "We still have another couple of weeks before I have to go back to Kingston."

Tyler kisses him back, and they make out until Zack's phone buzzes with the alarm that means they have to get dressed so Tyler can drive Zack to work.

Zack pats Tyler's hand before he gets out of the car. "A couple more weeks," he says. "We'll have a good time."

Tyler smiles back at him because he still really likes Zack, and even though this isn't exactly what he wants, and he feels bad about it coming to an end, it's not breaking his heart like he thinks it could, which probably says something about the relationship.

Of course, he's still not happy about it, and that's probably all over his face when he gets home, because Brownie asks him, "What's up with you?"

Tyler flops down on the couch and moves over enough to let Marshall come up and cuddle with him. "I think I just got pre-dumped."

"Pre-dumped? How does that even work?"

"We're still hanging out, but only until he goes back to school."

"Ouch," Brownie says.

"Yep." Tyler rubs behind Marshall's ears. "But you're not going anywhere, are you, buddy? Yeah, you're better than a boyfriend anyway."

"Maybe it's for the best," Brownie says, and Tyler looks up to glare at him. "No," Brownie says with his hands out, "listen to me. Once the season starts, you're going to be traveling all over the place. You wouldn't see him anyway, and this way you can hook up whenever you want. No one's going to recognize you half the places you go anyway."

Tyler sighs. "Yeah, probably," he says, "but can't you let me wallow first?"

"Sure." Brownie pats his ankle. "Want to watch _The Notebook_?"

Tyler puts his arm over his eyes. "Yes."

Brownie gets up, and Tyler listens to the click of the DVD case, the whoosh of the DVD player opening and closing, and then the familiar menu screen music.

Brownie throws the remote at him even though Tyler's not looking - it thunks into his chest, just missing Marshall - and goes into the kitchen. "Ice cream?"

"No," Tyler says. "We met at an ice cream place."

There's silence from the kitchen, and Tyler starts the movie. Brownie comes back with a couple of bottles of Gatorade and a spoon he hands to Tyler. When Tyler sticks the spoon into his mouth, he finds it's not ice cream - Brownie probably would have brought bowls or the carton anyway - but frosting from one of the cans in the fridge.

"Thanks," he says through the sugar.

Brownie sits down and pats his ankle again before he settles in to watch Allie and Noah fall in love.

*

Zack has plans with his family for his last night in town, and plans with some of his friends from high school for the night before that, and Tyler gets the night before that.

Brownie leaves in the afternoon to crash at Jesse's for the night, and Tyler makes dinner and sets the table instead of just putting plates on the counter.

"Hey, this is nice," Zack says after Tyler lets him in, kisses him, and gets out of the way so Zack can pet Marshall. "Are you cooking?"

"Yes," Tyler says. "I can cook."

Zack laughs and leans over the counter to kiss him. "I wasn't doubting that."

Tyler puts his hand on Zack's cheek and keeps him there for another kiss before he has to pull away to check on the food.

They eat at the table, and it's nice, if a little quiet. They're both too aware that it's the last night for it to be that happy, but it's still nice to be with Zack, and to have Zack's leg resting against his.

Tyler refuses Zack's offer to help clean up, and Zack sits at the counter and keeps him company while he puts dishes in the dishwasher and sets pans in the sink to soak.

"So," Tyler says when the kitchen's clean. "Want to go for ice cream?"

"Are you going to tease me horribly with the way you use your tongue?"

Tyler blushes a little, but also grins. "Yes."

Zack fakes a sigh, and says, "All right, let's go."

Tyler kisses him before he can get up, and then they put their shoes on, put Marshall on his leash, and walk to the ice cream shop. It would be better if they could hold hands, but at least they're making the walk together, and Marshall's completely happy running ahead and then coming back to them.

After he gives Marshall a treat, Tyler does his best to be enticing without going overboard, and the way he licks his ice cream cone does keep Zack's eyes glued to his mouth.

"Why did we walk?" Zack asks when Tyler licks the last bit of stickiness off his fingers after he's done with his ice cream. "I really want to be naked with you right now."

Tyler looks around, but Zack said it quietly enough that they weren't overheard. "So let's get out of here."

They walk a little faster on the way back, pausing only to wait for Marshall and stoplights. Tyler has to curl his hands around Marshall's leash to keep from reaching for Zack in the elevator, and Zack hovers close behind him when he opens his apartment door.

Tyler thinks just enough to unclip Marshall's leash before he pushes Zack up against the closed door and kisses him.

"You are such a tease," Zack mutters through their kisses.

"I know what works." Tyler pulls Zack's shirt up enough to get his hands on skin.

"It really works." Zack tips his head back when Tyler kisses his neck, and then he puts his hands on Tyler's arms. "Wait, wait. What about your roommate?"

Tyler sucks at Zack's neck. He'd like to send Zack back to school with a hickey, but he doesn't, stops before it goes that far. "Gone for the night." Tyler slides to his knees, looks up at Zack to make sure Zack is watching before he gets Zack's jeans open.

He presses kisses to Zack's waist, then moves down as he pulls Zack's jeans and underwear out of the way. He licks Zack's cock, a solid stripe up the underside, then a couple of little licks, like he did with his ice cream.

"God, your tongue," Zack says. He has his hands fisted at his sides, and he's staring down at Tyler with the kind of hungry look that's a thousand times more intense than it was when they were in public.

Tyler keeps on with little licks, over the head, the ridge below, up and down the shaft. He looks up at Zack as much as he can without losing track of what he's doing. He does that for a long time before Zack touches him, hand heavy against the back of his head.

"Tyler," Zack says, "please, you're killing me."

Tyler doesn't really want to make this go any faster - he likes feeling Zack's cock under his tongue, and this is his last chance, or second to last if they do this again in the morning - but he wraps one hand around the base of Zack's cock and slides his mouth down to meet it.

"Tyler," Zack moans. "Baby, just like that."

Tyler moves, sucks, lets Zack fuck gently into his mouth. He listens to Zack falling apart above him and rolls Zack's balls in his free hand. He swallows as best he can around Zack's cock when Zack comes and keeps Zack's cock in his mouth until Zack stops holding him there and pushes him off it.

"God, Tyler." Zack slides to the floor, legs spread around Tyler where he's still on his knees. "I'm going to miss you doing that so much." He hooks his arm around Tyler's shoulders and kisses him.

Tyler kisses back, and only moves away when Zack pulls his shirt up and he has to raise his arms and let Zack pull it over his head. Zack pushes Tyler back, and he twists so he has room to stretch out his legs as he lies down all the way on the floor.

Zack kisses down his chest, stopping to lick at Tyler's nipples, and again to trace his tongue over the ridges of Tyler's abs. It's slow, and Tyler's already hard, but it feels too good to rush Zack along.

Zack gets there anyway, opening Tyler's jeans and getting his cock out. He jacks it slowly a couple of times, strokes that make Tyler groan, and then bends over and takes it into his mouth.

It's good, and they've been together long enough that Zack knows what he likes, so there's no guesswork, nothing tentative about it, just Zack's mouth and tongue in all the places guaranteed to make Tyler feel good.

Tyler gets one arm under his head, propping himself up enough that he can see Zack's lips stretching around his cock. He's been so conscious of this as the last time, but now, half-naked on the floor with Zack bending over him, that all fades away to be replaced with the sheer pleasure of what they're doing.

It builds and builds and builds, and then Zack's tongue twists around him in just the right way, and Tyler cries out as he comes. Zack works him through it, and then lets Tyler's cock fall from his mouth.

"Zack," Tyler says, voice wrecked, and Zack grins at him and moves up his body to kiss him.

"I can't believe Marshall didn't interrupt us," Zack says after a couple of minutes of making out.

Tyler half laughs and half groans. "Come on," he says, "let's get off the floor."

They don't make it far, just to the couch, dropping their clothes on the floor as they go. Zack pushes Tyler down and lies mostly on top of him, and they keep making out. It's not going anywhere, not yet, but it's still good, naked and relaxed kissing that goes on for longer than Tyler thought they would get away with before Marshall comes over to demand attention. That's good too, both of them still tangled up in each other and reaching out to pet Marshall and talk to him.

Marshall wanders off after a while, deciding his squeaky toy is more interesting than them, and Zack and Tyler make out some more.

When their making out turns into wandering hands and both of them starting to get hard, Zack gets up and says, "Let's go to bed."

*

Tyler wakes up in the morning with sore lips, the feeling of being watched, and a hard-on. He opens his eyes to Zack, pressed close because they both like it that way and because it's a small bed.

Zack smiles at him, and Tyler jerks him off in a still sleepy daze that doesn't really clear until well after Zack makes him come.

"You want breakfast?"

"Yeah."

"'Kay." Tyler yawns and makes himself get out of bed and duck into the bathroom to brush his teeth and take a quick shower. He has clothes upstairs, but Zack's are all on the floor downstairs, so while he's in the kitchen cooking, Zack comes downstairs naked, and Tyler stops what he's doing to watch him get dressed.

"Like what you see?" Zack walks across the room while he pulls on his shirt.

"Yes." Tyler leans across the counter to kiss him. "Better when you're taking it off."

Zack grins and kisses him, and then crouches down to pet Marshall while Tyler finishes making breakfast.

They eat slowly, without talking much, and Zack hangs around in the kitchen, leaning against the counter with a coffee mug in his hands, watching Tyler clean up.

Tyler pins him there after he puts things away, and kisses him long and slow, and again and again after Zack puts the mug down and wraps his arms around Tyler.

"I should go," Zack says eventually.

Tyler's arms tighten around him almost involuntarily. "I'll drive you."

"No." Zack shakes his head. "I'll take the bus. I don't want you to drive me home and then not be able to kiss you." He strokes his hands over Tyler's hair. "This has been a really great summer. I'm sorry it couldn't be more than that."

Tyler nods, and doesn't trust himself to speak. He leans his forehead on Zack's shoulder instead. Zack kisses his temple and holds him for a while, until Tyler doesn't feel quite so much like he might cry and he can pull back and smile at Zack.

"Thanks," he says, and he kisses Zack gently. "You know, you were my first Canadian boyfriend."

Zack laughs. "Someday when you're out, I'm going to brag about that."

"You should," Tyler says. "You were a good boyfriend."

Zack looks at him fondly, and strokes his cheek. "I'll text you sometime, okay?"

"Yeah." Tyler kisses him, and this time he knows it's probably the last one.

Zack slides out from between him and the counter and goes over to pet Marshall. "It was good to know you, buddy," he says. "You're a good dog." Then he stands up, waves at Tyler, and then he's gone.

Tyler lets out a shaky breath and calls Marshall over to him. "You're the best dog," Tyler says, and he pets Marshall for a minute before he gets Marshall to go with him to lie down on the couch. He doesn't really want to talk to Brownie when he gets home, but going upstairs seems like too much work right now.

*

Zack leaving is pretty much the end of the summer, anyway. Tyler hangs out with his family a lot in the last two weeks before he has to go to Boston for training camp, and he eats a couple of spoonfuls of frosting, but otherwise sticks to his nutrition and conditioning plan. Brownie helps by not asking a lot of questions and, Tyler's pretty sure, telling Jesse and Fred not to ask him about it either.

Tyler could probably go out and get laid before he leaves Toronto, but he doesn't, jerks off to fantasies and memories of Zack instead.

*

Fred heads down to Boston earlier than Tyler does, and he keeps tweeting and texting and calling about the house and how nice it is to have it to himself and how Tyler owes him for groceries.

_You're the only one eating them,_ Tyler sends back. _I'm not paying for that._

Fred sends him a picture of a giant bag of dog food.

Tyler looks from it to Marshall and says, "At least you won't starve when we get down there."

*

Tyler and Brownie clean out their fridge and pack up a week and a half later. Brownie spends so much time saying goodbye to Marshall that Tyler starts to feel left out.

Brownie finally says, "And you take care of your daddy," and stands up. He goes in for a hug at the same time Tyler does, and it's a good, solid hug.

"Hey, thanks," Tyler says. "For, you know, being cool."

"Cooler than you," Brownie says. "But, dude, of course." He thumps Tyler on the shoulder. "We'll Skype and shit. You can tell me about all the dudes you're meeting. Without too much detail. I already know more than I want to about your sex life."

Tyler's cheeks heat up, and he shoves Brownie. "Shut up. Like I don't know just as much about yours."

Brownie makes a face at him. "Don't remind me. And don't say that shit to Julie. She doesn't need to know how much you heard."

"I think I'll call her later," Tyler says.

Brownie laughs and hugs him again. "Okay, dude, be careful when you're out there picking up dudes without me to back you up."

"I did fine without you here," Tyler says, but he appreciates the sentiment. He clips on Marshall's leash and gathers up the last of his duffels, and waits for Brownie to grab his last bag.

Brownie flips the living room lights off and makes sure the door is locked behind them, and they ride the elevator down to the garage together, and then they wave and get into their own cars to drive back to their own teams, and that, more than anything, means summer is really over.

"All right, buddy," Tyler says to Marshall. "Let's get back to Boston. We're going to have a good year, right?"

Marshall barks at him, and Tyler grins.

"Sure we are."

*

The first few days back in Boston are something of a whirlwind. Tyler hangs with Fred at home the first night - the drive back gives him enough of an excuse not to do anything else - and then catches up with his team, hangs with the rest of his crew, and settles back into his life in Boston.

Training camp starts up, and it's just like it always is, so much so that Tyler forgets for long stretches of time that there's anything else in his life.

He's waiting for his turn at a drill when he realizes he's barely thought about Zack all week.

Marchy hits him in the skate with his stick. "What's with that look on your face?"

"Nothing," Tyler says. "I was just thinking."

"I know how that's hard for you."

"Fuck you," Tyler says with a laugh. He jostles with Marchy and takes his turn, and comes back to it later. He really hasn't thought about Zack much. Maybe a couple of times when he was jerking off, but nothing very substantial. He kind of feels guilty about it now that he's thinking about it, because shouldn't he feel worse about the end of his relationship?

"I don't know," Brownie says when Tyler mentions it to him over Skype, both of them at the end of long training camp days and Tyler rambling a bit. "You feel however you feel, I guess. And you knew it was coming, like we watched _The Notebook_ before Zack even left."

"Yeah, I guess," Tyler says. "I haven't even texted him."

"Has he texted you?"

"No."

"Well," Brownie says, "maybe that's just it. It doesn't all have to be, like, writing letters every day for a year and never really loving anyone else."

Tyler makes a face at him. "No, I know that."

"So," Brownie says, "live with it, and go hook up with someone else if you need the distraction."

"Yeah," Tyler says slowly.

"What?"

Tyler sighs. "It's, like, no one here knows, except for Fred."

Brownie waves a hand, because, yeah, Tyler doesn't have to explain Fred's uselessness as a wingman to him.

"I don't know," Tyler says. "Maybe I should just tell people."

"Up to you, dude. If it's just that, you don't really need a wingman to hook up."

"Yeah," Tyler says, "but, like, I don't know about doing that in Boston."

"Seriously? Are you worried about getting recognized? You went out and hooked up in _Toronto_."

"Yeah, but it's different in Boston." Tyler shrugs. "People always know who I am at bars and clubs and stuff. If I told people, I don't know, maybe they know people or something."

"I don't know," Brownie says. "It's your life. Do what you want. Or go hook up when you're out of town."

"Yeah, I guess," Tyler says. "Maybe I do need the distraction."

*

It's not terrible advice. He can't hook up when they go to Toronto because he's spending time with his family, but he goes out in Montreal and goes home with a guy who speaks mostly French but doesn't seem to care that Tyler doesn't, or that Tyler can't stay the night.

Tyler takes a cab back to the hotel, and it is a distraction, a good one, and it had definitely been too long since he last got laid.

It doesn't really solve his problem, though. Most of the time, he's hanging with the boys when they're on the road, and kind of more now that he has his own room, all of them making an effort to bond now that they don't have the necessity of shared rooms.

That leaves Boston, and if he's going to go out in Boston, he needs to have a plan. Or something. Also, it would be great if Marchy stopped trying to wingman for him with girls. And that sounds like he's made a decision.

*

Tyler cooks when Marchy comes over for dinner. It's a good outlet for his nervous energy, and it gives Marchy something to chirp him about, even though Tyler is a perfectly good, if basic, cook.

Fred eats with them, and hangs out to make fun of Marchy's video game skills, but then he goes to his room to work on his homework, and Tyler and Marchy give up on the Xbox in favor of _America's Next Top Model_ and lazy conversation.

Neither one of them is really watching Tyra talk about modeling, so Tyler mutes it and turns to Marchy and takes a deep breath. "I want to tell you something," he says, and practice really, really doesn't make this any easier, because his palms are sweaty and his heart is pounding and his cheeks are probably turning bright red.

Marchy seems to get that this is serious, because he sits up and says, "Okay."

Tyler rubs his hands against his jeans. "I'm gay."

Marchy says, "Uh."

"Yeah," Tyler says. "It's not, like, a big deal, well, it kind of is, but it's not like- I just wanted you to know and, like, I don't really need you to wingman for me with girls."

"You dick." Marchy reaches over and hits Tyler's shoulder. "We've been friends for, like, three years, and you never told me that?"

"Ow." Tyler rubs his shoulder. "I didn't know, okay? Not until, like, last year."

"Last year?" Marchy hits him again.

"Ow! Knock it off!"

"You knock it off. You didn't tell me."

"I didn't tell anyone," Tyler says. "Not until, like, the beginning of the summer."

"That's months," Marchy says. "I thought we were friends. And you just let me wingman for you anyway."

"That's why I'm telling you," Tyler says. "I don't need you to do that." He pauses. "Unless you want to help me meet guys."

"I don't want to help you meet anyone." Marchy hits him a third time. "You don't just keep this kind of shit from your friends." He narrows his eyes at Tyler. "And what do you mean that's why you're telling me? You should be telling me because we're friends."

"I am." Tyler scoots out of Marchy's range so he doesn't get hit again. "If you weren't my buddy, I wouldn't trust you not to tell anyone else."

Marchy slumps against the couch. "You're a shitty friend." He sighs. "Okay, tell me who else knows, so I know who to keep my mouth shut around."

"Fred, Brownie, Blacker, my family," Tyler lists off. "And, uh, a couple of guys I hooked up with. But I don't think most of them knew who I was."

Marchy stares at him and shakes his head. "Maybe you should be sure of that if you don't want to people to find out."

"Fuck you," Tyler says. "No one's said anything, and the two guys I dated wouldn't."

"Okay, so," Marchy says with a sigh, "if you want me to wingman for you, what's your type?"

Tyler pulls out his phone. "I have a couple of pictures." He laughs at the look on Marchy's face. "Of the guys I dated. Just selfies, like the kind of thing anyone would take." He scrolls through until he finds some of his pictures with Zack. "Don't worry. You're not going to see any dick you don't want to."

Marchy takes his phone and flips through a couple of pictures.

"Zack," Tyler explains. "We went out this summer." He takes his phone back and scrolls back farther, then hands it back to Marchy. "Noah. From last year. In Biel."

"Last year," Marchy mutters. "These guys aren't anything alike, and I don't even know where you're going to meet gay dudes in Boston. Unless, like, you want to go to gay bars."

Tyler takes his phone back and flops back against the arm of the couch. "I don't know if it's a good idea in Boston." He rolls his head to look at Marchy. "I went out in Montreal."

Marchy groans. "Don't tell me you hooked up with a Habs fan."

"No," Tyler says. "I don't think he knew anything about hockey."

"Everyone in Canada knows something about hockey," Marchy says. "You're an idiot."

"I'm not an idiot! I went out in Toronto all summer. Well, until I met Zack."

"You're still an idiot," Marchy says. "Can I tell Katrina? She might know some people."

"Yeah," Tyler says, "if you think she won't tell other people."

"No," Marchy says. "She'll be discreet. It might not help you get laid."

Tyler shrugs. "As long as you stop pushing girls my way, it'll be better." He grimaces. "Sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"Yeah, you better be sorry." Marchy hits his arm, but this time it's more affectionate than painful. "You're a terrible friend, but I'm still going to help you get laid."

Tyler grins at him and holds out his hand for a fist bump. "Awesome."

*

_No luck,_ Marchy texts him a few days later. _K says most gay dudes she knows are taken and she's not introducing you to the other ones._

Tyler texts back to tell Marchy just what a terrible friend he is, and also to reject Marchy's follow-up offer to go to a gay bar with him; he still gets recognized too much in Boston to risk gay bars.

_Next week?_ Marchy texts back after a while. _No one will know you in Tampa._

Tyler pulls up their schedule, and yeah, they will have a free night in Tampa. _You sure you want to?_ he sends.

_Y,_ Marchy sends back. _Want to see what your game is like._

_Fuck you,_ Tyler sends. _My game is great._

Marchy doesn't reply to that, which either means he's busy laughing at Tyler or he's accepting Tyler's word for it.

Tyler screencaps the last part of the conversation and sends it to Brownie. _Tell him my game is good._

_It's the kind of thing he has to see for himself,_ Brownie sends back after a while. _Guess telling him went well?_

_Y,_ Tyler sends. _He was mad I didn't tell him earlier, but mostly cool._

Brownie sends him a thumbs-up emoji and, _Hope it gets you laid._

_I'll tell you all about it after._

Brownie sends, _Please don't. I already know too much._

*

Tyler trusts Marchy to wingman for him, but he really doesn't trust him to pick a place to go, so he's the one who googles for gay bars in Tampa and gives their cab driver an address. Tyler doesn't know exactly what Marchy told the other guys, but no one else tried to invite themselves along, which is for the best.

The bar is loud, and there are more women than Tyler's used to seeing in a gay bar. Marchy dives through the crowd like he would in any other bar and makes Tyler pay for their drinks.

"It's to make up for all those years I had to buy your drinks," Marchy says. He grins at the bartender, a ripped, shirtless dude who winks at both of them, and then does a shot.

Tyler laughs and tosses back his shot before picking up his beer.

"Now," Marchy says, leaning back on the bar and looking out over the crowd. "What's your type? Aside from the bartender."

Tyler chokes a little on his beer. "I wasn't-

"I saw the way you were looking," Marchy says, "but he's working, so let's find you someone who's not busy."

"Fuck you," Tyler says. "I don't actually need a wingman."

"Suit yourself," Marchy says with a shrug. He pushes off the bar and walks away from Tyler, looking back to smirk at him before he totally disappears into the crowd.

Tyler shakes his head and takes a moment to get the lay of the land before he goes to talk to a guy at the other end of the bar.

It's barely ten minutes later - the guy Tyler went over to talk to was with someone, but there's another guy at the bar he's been chatting with - that Marchy comes up to him with his arm around a stacked blonde who has her hand wrapped around the wrist of what has to be the hottest guy in the place.

"This is Tyler," Marchy says. "This is Kelly and Jake."

"Hi!" Kelly waves at him with a bright smile.

Jake very obviously checks Tyler out, and then steps closer to him, out of Kelly's hold and nudging the guy Tyler was talking to out of the way. "Your friend says you like to dance."

Tyler grins at him, gives an apologetic shrug to the other guy, and puts his beer bottle down on the bar. "I love to dance."

Jake likes to dance the same way Tyler likes to dance, in the middle of the dance floor with lots of grinding. There are plenty of hot guys in the place, but Tyler and Jake are definitely the hottest couple on the dance floor, and that's even before Jake backs off a tiny bit and strips off his shirt.

There are a couple of catcalls from around them, and a couple more when Tyler follows Jake's lead and pulls off his shirt.

The dancing is even better that way, when there's a lot of skin for Tyler to rub up against. Jake must think so too, because he puts his hands on Tyler's hips and pulls him closer. There's barely any space between them, and Jake turns around to grind his ass into Tyler's hips. Tyler's half hard, and that only makes him harder.

They keep dancing like that for a little longer, and there's a pleased smirk on Jake's face when he turns around. Tyler knows what's going to happen even before Jake leans in and says, "Want to get out of here?"

"Yes." Tyler lets Jake grab his wrist and drag him through the crowd. He mostly ignores the looks from the crowd around them, and doesn't think about Marchy and Kelly until they're outside on the sidewalk. "What about your friend?"

"Just need to text her." Jake lets go of Tyler's wrist and pulls out his phone. "What about yours?"

"Same." Tyler pulls out his phone and texts Marchy, _Leaving. See you tomorrow._

Marchy texts back right away: _Get some._

Tyler locks his phone and slips it into his pocket.

"Cool?" Jake asks.

"Yep, we're good."

"Sweet. My place is this way." Jake jerks his head down the street. "We can walk it."

Tyler gestures at him to lead the way. It's plenty warm out, so he doesn't bother putting his shirt back on, and Jake doesn't either.

Jake lets them into a door in a row of identical looking places and takes him up the stairs to the second floor. Tyler watches his ass the whole way up the stairs, and doesn't bother to hide what he's been doing when Jake opens the door to his apartment and turns around to gesture Tyler in.

"Like what you see?"

Tyler lets his gaze roam over Jake's body, jeans riding low to show off his hip bones, abs of someone who works out, strong jaw. "Yes."

Jake locks the door behind them. "Does that mean I get to kiss you now?"

"Yes," Tyler says. He takes a step forward at the same time Jake does, and they meet in the middle. Jake's good at kissing, and he walks them through the apartment as they make out. They're in a bedroom before Tyler knows it, and Tyler just smirks at Jake and pops the button on his jeans.

Jake drops down to sit on the bed. "All right," he says. "Show me what you've got."

Tyler draws his zipper down slowly before pushing his jeans down and stepping closer to Jake when he steps out of them.

"Nice," Jake says. He waves his hand at Tyler. "Keep going."

Tyler pushes his boxer briefs down, and the step he takes out of them brings him right up to Jake, who spreads his legs apart to make room for Tyler to stand between his knees.

"Like what you see?" Tyler asks.

Jake grins up at him before he says, "Yes." He doesn't waste any more time before he leans forward and presses a kiss to Tyler's stomach. He licks his way down Tyler's abs to his hips, too firm to tickle and not coming close enough to his cock.

"Please," Tyler says, and Jake grins at him again before he just licks Tyler's cock. It's just enough to be a tease, and Jake keeps going, licking tiny stripes of wet up the shaft, over the head a couple of times, nowhere close to how much Tyler wants.

"Like that?" Jake asks.

"Yeah," Tyler says. "Fuck, yeah, just, more, please."

Jake goes back to licking him, longer stripes this time, and after every few he takes Tyler's cock between his lips and sucks. Those times get closer and closer together, until he's not doing the licking thing anymore, just sucking and licking with Tyler's cock in his mouth.

Jake's the kind of hot where he looks really good with his lips stretched around Tyler, and he seems to like it, has one hand in his lap probably rubbing over his cock. Tyler wants to enjoy this for as long as he can, but he also doesn't want Jake to come before Tyler gets a chance to suck his cock.

He stops trying to hold back, lets himself just feel how good it is to get his cock sucked, and he barely manages to gasp out a warning.

Jake pulls back and jerks Tyler off the rest of the way. Tyler manages not to let his knees buckle, but he feels a little unsteady after he comes.

Jake pats his hip with his clean hand and gets up. Tyler collapses down to sit on the edge of the bed where Jake was. There's the sound of water running and a light on in what has to be, by the tile on the floor, the bathroom, and then the light goes out and Jake comes back.

Tyler leans back on his hands and looks Jake over, flushed cheeks, bare chest, cock showing hard through his jeans. "All right," he says with a grin. "Show me what you've got."

Jake's better at undressing for an audience than Tyler is. He goes slower, makes it more seductive somehow, and Tyler's mouth is watering by the time Jake steps out of his underwear and between Tyler's legs.

"Like what you see?" Jake asks

"Yeah." Tyler's voice comes out rough, and he leans forward to get his mouth on Jake's cock. He doesn't use anything like the finesse Jake showed, just sucks sloppy and messy and keeps flicking his gaze up to make sure it's doing it for Jake.

"Oh, fuck," Jake says when Tyler rubs his tongue along Jake's cock as he slides it in and out of his mouth a little. "Yeah, just like that."

Tyler keeps it up, and he's starting to get a little turned on again from how much Jake likes it. He rubs absently at his cock, even though he's probably not going to get it up again before Jake comes.

"Fuck," Jake says. "Fuck, I'm going to." He's looking at Tyler, not just at his face, but the rest of him, so Tyler leans back a little when he lets Jake's cock slide out of his mouth and takes him in hand. Tyler jerks him off the rest of the way - it doesn't take long - and he holds Jake's cock so he comes on Tyler's chest.

Jake groans and stares at him for a minute before he flops down onto his back on the bed next to Tyler. "I've met a lot of hot guys," he says after a bit, "but you're the hottest one I've ever come on."

"Uh, thanks," Tyler says, because he guesses that's meant to be a compliment.

"No, no," Jake says, "thank _you_. Fuck, I wish we could do this again sometime."

"Sorry," Tyler shrugs. "I'm from out of town. Just here tonight."

"Thank God you walked into the club," Jake says. "And that your friend found my friend."

Tyler tips back to lie down next to him. "I think my friend found you. He was mostly there to be my wingman."

"He did good," Jake says.

Tyler grins at him. "He really did." He leans over and kisses Jake. Jake keeps kissing him and pulls him closer despite the drying come all over Tyler's chest.

"God, you're a mess," Jake says. He drags a hand over Tyler's chest, down to his abs, making even more of a mess. "You want a shower?"

Tyler looks down at himself. "Uh, yeah, that'd probably be good."

"That way," Jake says, waving at the bathroom. "I'll come join you in a minute."

Jake does join him after a minute. It's a tight fit for the two of them, and neither one of them gets hard enough to come again, but they make out and Jake runs his hands all over Tyler's body, so it's pretty good, and Tyler can always jerk off to it later.

Tyler checks the time on his phone when he gets out of the shower, and it's getting pretty late so he gets dressed and tells Jake, "This was great, but I should probably go."

Jake doesn't bother getting dressed, just walks Tyler to the door in his towel and kisses him at the door.

"Thanks for a great time," Tyler says.

"It was definitely my pleasure," Jake says, and Tyler's smiling as he makes his way back toward the club.

There's a text from Marchy saying he already went back to the hotel, so Tyler snags a cab someone's getting out of and heads back alone.

He does end up jerking off before he goes to sleep, and he sleeps great.

When he meets the rest of the guys for breakfast in the morning, Marchy grins and high-fives him, which gets them both a lot of wolf whistles from everyone paying attention to them.

*

Having Marchy on his side means Tyler gets laid on the road a lot more. It's easier for the two of them to go out than it is for Tyler to go alone, although they still don't always manage it. Some of the other guys invite themselves along about half the time, and those times Marchy shrugs at him and they go to a regular bar or club instead.

Tyler gets laid once on one of those outings, at a club busy enough that he can leave with a guy who keeps watching him from across the bar without anyone else noticing. Mostly, though, he sticks with the boys and flirts with a couple of girls when they expect him to.

It's too good to last, and he's not really surprised when Ference corners him at team breakfast one morning and says, "You haven't been picking up when we go out. I know you're not getting too old for it yet."

Tyler's literally cornered, at a table in the corner of the room far enough away from everyone else that if they keep their voices down they probably won't be overheard. Tyler's thought about it a little, telling the rest of them, but he doesn't want to rush anything, and having Marchy know has mostly been enough for him. But maybe it'll be easier to have more people he doesn't have to be so careful around. He knows Ference will be cool, and he has friends who aren't on the team, so maybe he knows people he can hook Tyler up with.

Tyler takes a bite of eggs to give himself another minute to think about it while Ference just lets the silence settle.

"If I tell you," Tyler says, "you can't tell anyone else."

Ference's eyebrows go up. "Okay," he says. "I won't."

Tyler looks down so he doesn't have to see Ference's face when he says, "I'm gay."

"Wow," Ference says after a moment. "That wasn't even on my list of possibilities. Thank you for trusting me."

Tyler shrugs and looks up when he reaches for his orange juice. Ference doesn't seem particularly upset about it.

"Is that why you and Marchy go out without everyone else sometimes?"

"Uh, yeah," Tyler says. "He's a good wingman."

"Good, I guess," Ference says. "Are you being, you know, careful, if you don't want people to know?"

"Yes," Tyler says. "I went out in Toronto, but not in Boston, and Marchy and I have only been going out on road trips."

Ference stares at him. "How is _Toronto_ better than Boston?"

"People know me in Boston," Tyler says. "No one really cared in Toronto. Plus," he adds, "I was dating a guy for a couple of months over the summer, so I wasn't really trying to pick up."

Ference keeps staring at him. "You dated? I didn't think you were into that kind of steady thing."

Tyler shrugs. "I like hooking up," he says. "I love hooking up. But, yeah, dating's pretty cool. I dated a guy in Biel too."

"It's like I don't even know you." Ference shakes his head and digs into his breakfast instead of continuing to stare at Tyler. "It figures that you'd turn out to be a romantic," he says after a couple of minutes.

"I guess," Tyler says. "Not really a chance for that right now."

"Buck up," Ference says. "The more people who know, the more people who can help you meet guys."

Tyler grins at him. "That's what I'm counting on."

*

Tyler tells Marchy that he told Ference, and the three of them go out on the road sometimes. Sometimes that works to Tyler's benefit, and sometimes it just ends with the two of them chirping him about both his taste and his game, and Tyler's impulse to defend himself interferes with his other goal of trying to get laid. It's fun anyway, if a different kind of fun.

The three of them also attract a different group of guys than Tyler and Marchy did alone. Hipsters seem to sense their kinship with Ference, and Tyler sometimes finds him deep in conversation with guys in environmentally-themed t-shirts who aren't particularly impressed when Ference tries to introduce them to Tyler.

It makes Tyler slightly skeptical when Ference nudges him after practice one day and says, "I met this guy. He's about your age, gay, single."

"Where'd you meet him?" Tyler asks. "Is he another one of your green hipsters?"

"There's nothing wrong with being green," Ference says, "or a hipster. And I met him at a birthday party. His niece is one of Stella's friends. He's nice, good with kids, good-looking. I'll give him your number if you want."

That is part of why Tyler started coming out to people on his team, so he says, "Yeah, okay."

"Marchy's not the only one who can be a successful wingman for you," Ference says. "His name's Greg, and I think you'll like him."

"Thanks," Tyler says, meaning it sincerely.

*

Tyler gets a call from an unknown number a couple of days later, and he's not busy so he picks it up.

"Hi," a voice he doesn't recognize says, "is this Tyler?"

"Yes."

"Hi, Tyler," the guy says, and he's a lot warmer this time. "This is Greg. I met your friend Andrew last week, and he said I should call you and see if you wanted to go out sometime."

"Oh, hi," Tyler says, smiling into the phone. "Yeah, he said he was going to give you my number."

"Is that a yes on going out?"

"Yes," Tyler says. "Definitely."

They arrange to meet for drinks the next day, and Greg says, "I'll text you a picture so you can find me."

Greg texts the picture a couple of minutes after they hang up. The picture shows a dark-haired guy with a loosened tie and a smile. _I don't always wear a tie,_ Greg's note with it says, _but I'll be coming from work._

Tyler sends back, _I guess I'd better dress nicely too._

He takes his phone downstairs to where Fred's lounging on the couch and holds it up to him.

"Why am I looking at some stockbroker asshole?"

"I'm going on a date with him tomorrow," Tyler says.

"Maybe he won't be an asshole," Fred says. He looks up and shrugs. "Okay? Is this so I can describe him to the police if he murders you gruesomely?"

"You watch too much TV," Tyler says. "Ference knows him. Sort of. What do you think?"

Fred shrugs. "I don't know, dude. Everyone looks like an asshole in a tie like that."

Tyler turns the phone around to look at Greg's picture. "I own a tie like that."

Fred grins at him. "Exactly."

Tyler flips him off.

*

Tyler's just barely on time to meet Greg. The bar's picking up with the after work crowd, and he has to look through a bunch of people before he spots Greg at the bar.

"Greg?" He smiles as Greg turns to look at him. "Hi, I'm Tyler."

Greg smiles at him, and it's subtle, but Tyler can see Greg checking him out. "Hi, Tyler. Nice to actually meet you. Can I get you a drink?"

"Sure."

Greg turns toward the bar to get the bartender's attention, which takes a minute.

The bartender smiles at Greg, and wider at Tyler. "What can I get you?"

Greg orders a beer, and Tyler smiles and asks for the same. The bartender hands them a pair of bottles and says, "On the house," with a smile for Tyler when Greg tries to pay for them.

Greg looks at Tyler and raises his eyebrows. "Table?"

Tyler looks around at the number of people at the bar; they'll be able to talk at a table. "Yeah."

Greg leads him across the room to an empty table, and they settle in on either side of it.

"So," Greg says, "tell me why your smile gets us free drinks. Not that it's not a great smile."

Tyler flashes a smile at him. "I play hockey, with Ference. Andrew."

"Hockey," Greg says. "Huh."

"He didn't tell you that?"

"Have you ever been to a five-year-old's birthday party?" Greg asks.

"Uh, no."

"There's not that much grown-up conversation," Greg says. "Mostly people talked about their kids and how terrible traffic is." He shrugs. "I really only talked to Andrew for a couple of minutes. I spent most of the time playing with the kids and carrying things to and from the kitchen when my sister told me to."

"He said you were good with kids," Tyler says.

"He said you were good-looking," Greg says. "I think he undersold it."

Tyler blushes, and Greg just smiles at him a little more.

"He also said to be discreet," Greg says. "I guess now I know why."

"Yeah," Tyler says, and he sips at his beer so he doesn't really have to talk about that much. "What do you do?"

"Corporate drone," Greg says. "Accounting, very boring from the outside, but I like it."

"That does sound boring from the outside," Tyler says with a grin.

Greg laughs. "I won't bore you with the details, but it's much more interesting from the inside."

Tyler can't help making a face, and Greg just laughs at him again.

"So," Tyler says, "kids and accounting. What else are you into?"

Greg sips his beer slowly while he unmistakably checks Tyler out. "Good-looking guys."

It brings the blush back to Tyler's cheeks. "Me too," he says, looking at Greg from under his eyelashes for a second.

"Glad we're on the same page," Greg says. He drinks from his beer and they look at each other in silence for a moment. "You don't sound like a Boston native."

"You either," Tyler says. "I only came here when I got drafted."

"Wow," Greg says, "that really makes my following my sister across the country so I wouldn't miss out on my nieces and nephews growing up sound way less dramatic."

"I guess," Tyler says with a laugh. "Did you really do that?"

Greg nods. "We're from Chicago. I was in college there when Jason got a job and they moved here. I love the kids, and I didn't want them to never see their Uncle Greg, plus I was coming off a really bad breakup, so when I graduated, I only applied to jobs here. Mom and Dad still live in Chicago, but they're talking about moving here too in another year or two."

"Sounds like you're pretty close with your family," Tyler says.

"Oh, yeah. Stephanie's five years older, so we didn't have some of that sibling rivalry stuff my friends always had when they were close in age to their siblings, and neither of us went away to college, so we stayed pretty close. How about you?"

"Two sisters and two almost stepsisters," Tyler says. "They're all in Toronto, but I've been away from home since I was sixteen, so we're pretty used to not seeing each other for most of the year."

"Sixteen? Wow."

Tyler shrugs. "That's how hockey works. I got drafted into the OHL, junior hockey, and lived in Michigan for two years."

"So you probably didn't mind coming to Boston."

"No. It's closer, so I see my family more, and we play the Leafs, so I get up there for games and they can come see me play without having to come down here."

"Are you close to them?" Greg asks.

"Pretty close," Tyler says. "We text and Skype a lot, and I spend the summers in Toronto, so I see them a lot then."

"Huh," Greg says, then, "Four sisters, what's that like?"

Tyler grins. "My mom just got engaged last year, so I really only grew up with two of them. They're both younger."

"Really?" Greg asks. He eyes Tyler for a second. "You don't really strike me as an oldest child."

Tyler doesn't really know what to say to that, so it takes a moment before he says, "I've pretty much always been the youngest guy on my team."

"Maybe that's it," Greg says. "Or maybe I just don't know you well enough yet." He smiles at Tyler and tips back the rest of his beer. "Maybe I could keep getting to know you over dinner?"

Tyler smiles back. "There's a sushi place around the corner that's good."

They chat over platters of sushi, and if it's not the best time Tyler's ever had, it's at least good, and Greg doesn't know anything about hockey, so they talk movies and baseball instead.

Tyler tries to pay for dinner, but Greg bats his hand away and says, "I asked you out. I'll get it." He smiles at Tyler. "You can buy next time."

Tyler smiles back at him and says, "I drove. I can give you a ride home, if you want."

Greg says, "That'd be great," and they walk the two blocks to the garage where Tyler left his car. If it were nicer out, Tyler would try to make it a more leisurely walk, but it's cold enough that they walk purposefully instead.

Greg laughs when he sees the Maserati. "Is that really what you drive around town, or are you trying to impress me?"

Tyler flashes a grin at him. "A little bit of both."

"I'm impressed." Greg runs one gloved hand along the curve of the roof.

Tyler follows Greg's directions to his place. Greg lives on what appears to be a quiet street, lined with cars, and Tyler idles in front of the building Greg points out. There are street lights, but also trees throwing shadows, enough that Tyler doesn't try to stop Greg when he leans over and kisses Tyler's cheek.

"Let's do this again," Greg says.

"Definitely," Tyler says. "My schedule can be kind of weird, but I'll call you."

Greg smiles and says, "I can't wait," before he gets out of the car.

Tyler goes home, and barely gets in the door before Fred steps out of the living room, Marshall on his heels, and asks, "How was the date?"

"He's not an asshole," Tyler says, "so you were wrong."

*

Tyler waits a couple of days before he calls Greg. They go to dinner and a movie this time, and they go to a bar after and spend an hour talking about the movie and hanging out until Greg says, "I really hate to end our evening, but I have to work tomorrow," and Tyler drives him home.

They go on a road trip after that, and Tyler and Greg text back and forth.

Ference sidles up to Tyler when he's looking down at his phone writing back to Greg. "Was I right or was I right?"

Tyler almost hates to give him props for anything, but he says, "He's nice."

"You like him," Ference says.

"We've only been on two dates."

"And sent how many texts?"

Tyler shoves his phone in his pocket so Ference can't see what's on his screen. "Enough."

"I just want you to be happy," Ference says, and it's half mocking and half sincere.

"Yeah, yeah," Tyler says, but he smiles at Ference, because it was really nice of him to set Tyler up with Greg.

*

Tyler and Marchy slip away from the rest of the guys one night and go out to a gay bar. Tyler told Marchy he'd been on a couple of dates with a guy, but he's not sure he and Greg are dating exactly.

It's fun, Marchy playing wingman with less intensity than usual, and Tyler dances with a couple of guys until he's sweaty and tired. He doesn't hook up, though, just has a good time and leaves with Marchy before it gets too late.

He texts Greg on the way back to Boston, and makes plans to meet him for dinner.

"Third date," Fred says, being a pest while Tyler's trying to decide what to wear. "You going to let him get into your pants?"

Tyler flips him off. "I'm not going to tell you if I do."

They go out to dinner again, and linger over dessert, Tyler exchanging stories about Marshall's escapades for stories about Greg's nieces and nephews. Tyler drives Greg home, and his street is quiet, shadowed where Tyler stops to drop him off. Greg leans across the car to kiss Tyler, and it's nice, but Greg doesn't invite him in and Tyler doesn't push it.

Fred's in the living room when Tyler gets home, in just his boxer briefs, socks, and a bathrobe, paper spread all over the coffee table, guitar on his lap, and Marshall lying on the floor watching him.

Tyler goes over to pet Marshall, and Fred doesn't say anything until he finishes whatever it is he's playing. It's new, Tyler thinks, or at least he hasn't heard it before.

"You're home pretty early," Fred says.

Tyler shrugs, and rubs behind Marshall's ears. Fred starts in on playing something instead of saying anything to him, and Tyler pats Marshall one more time and goes upstairs to his room. He hits up Brownie to see if he's around, and pulls out his laptop to open Skype when Brownie hits him back.

"What's up?" Brownie asks.

"Can't I just want to see you?"

Brownie grins at him. "You can, but you have that look on your face like you want to talk."

Tyler sighs. "Ference set me up with this guy and I've been on three dates with him, and I just don't know."

Brownie blinks. "Did you hook up with him?"

"No."

"Would you like him better if you did?"

"I don't know!" Tyler sighs. "He's nice and pretty hot and he loves his nieces and nephews, like he moved to Boston from Chicago so he could be there while they grow up, but."

"But what?" Brownie asks. "He sounds great."

"He is." Tyler rubs his hand over his eyes. "He's just not-" Tyler sighs. "I wouldn't write him letters every day for a year. Is that dumb?"

"I would write Julie letters every day until the end of time," Brownie says. "I'm not going to be the guy to tell you not to hold out for that."

Brownie is a much better person to talk to about this than Fred would have been. "I guess I'm breaking up with him," Tyler says. "Or whatever. I don't know if we were really dating if it was only three dates."

"Close enough," Brownie says. "Sorry, dude."

Tyler sighs and makes a face at him.

"Someday," Brownie says, "you'll meet some guy you would write letters to every day for a year."

"Until then I guess I'll just hook up with hot guys out of town," Tyler says.

"Yeah, your life is so hard."

*

Tyler meets Greg for drinks at a quiet bar where he knows they'll be able to get a table and talk without anyone overhearing them. They chat for a few minutes before Greg puts his drink down and says, "Okay, out with it, whatever it is you want to say."

Tyler puts his beer down. "Is it that obvious?"

"People in space could tell you want to say something."

Tyler tears at the edge of the label on his beer bottle, then makes himself look up at Greg. "I don't think this is working out," he says. "You're really great, and I'm glad I met you, it's just not going to work for me."

"Oh," Greg says. "I was hoping it would work out." He shakes his head. "I probably should have known when I didn't invite you in, huh?"

"Maybe," Tyler says, his stomach tight with tension. He hates this. "I'm sorry. You really are great, and I'm sure you're going to find some guy who's perfect for you."

"You're just not going to be it," Greg says with a sigh.

"No," Tyler says. "Sorry."

Greg picks up his drink and puts it down again. "I'm going to take off," he says. "Maybe I'll see you around sometime."

Tyler nods and watches him go. He wants to tell Greg they could be friends, because he thinks that could be good, but he doesn't think Greg would appreciate it.

He drinks half his beer before he decides he doesn't really want to be there anymore either and goes home to his dog.

*

Tyler waits until the end of practice the next day, after they've come off the ice, when everyone's headed out, to pull Ference aside.

"What's up?" Ference asks.

"Um," Tyler says. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm not dating Greg anymore."

Ference looks at him, and he could chirp Tyler for it, but instead he says, "Okay," and squeezes Tyler's arm. "Sorry it didn't work out."

Tyler lets out a sigh. "Yeah, me too. Thanks for setting me up. I did like him." He shrugs. "He's just not right for me."

"When you know, you know," Ference says. "You gave it a shot."

"I did," Tyler says. He grins at Ference, mostly sincerely. "You can still set me up with people."

Ference pats his shoulder. "I'll keep that in mind." He grins at Tyler. "But next time it's going to be a green hipster."

Tyler laughs and says, "If you find me one, I'll give it a shot."

*

Ference does push one of the green hipsters at Tyler the next time he goes out with Tyler and Marchy on the road. Tyler gets the sense that they guy wouldn't think much of him if he were looking for someone to date, but Tyler slips it into the conversation that he's only in town for the night, and the guy takes him home. The sex is good, and Tyler goes back to the hotel at least feeling good about his ability to get laid.

"So?" Ference asks at breakfast.

Tyler makes sure no one is paying attention to them before he says, "He was good in bed, but he wouldn't have dated me."

Ference hmmms and says, "Well, you knew you probably weren't going to find your true love at a bar in Ottawa, right?"

"Yeah," Tyler says. "Maybe I should just risk it in Boston."

"What are you risking in Boston?" Marchy asks, taking the seat on the other side of Tyler.

"Going out," Tyler says. "Maybe."

"You'll get recognized for sure," Marchy says.

"I know," Tyler says. It's why he hasn't done it before, and why he probably won't now. He dredges up a smile. "If you two would just introduce me to people."

"I tried it," Ference says. He tips his chin in Marchy's direction. "Your turn."

"I don't know where you think I'm going to meet anyone who would date Segs," Marchy says.

"That's your problem," Ference says.

Tyler eats his eggs and lets them bicker about it.

*

Tyler doesn't go to gay bars in Boston. He sticks to going out on the road, and since no one introduces him to anyone, he doesn't date so much as get laid out of town. It's not like he has a problem with getting laid, but he finds he kind of misses dating, which is weird since he hasn't actually done that much of it.

"It's because you think you like to party but you're actually a romantic," Brownie tells him over Skype, accompanied by a roll of his eyes.

"Fuck you," Tyler says. "I love to party."

"Okay, fine," Brownie says. "Then you want to party with someone who's also going to hold your hand in a movie theater. No use denying your nature, dude."

That is actually kind of true. "It doesn't matter anyway," Tyler says, "since I'm not meeting anyone."

"Your life is not that much of a tragedy," Brownie says, which is not the sympathy Tyler was hoping for. "If you really want to go out, go out. Just be prepared for the consequences."

"Easy for you to say," Tyler mutters. "You don't have to worry about it. And you have Julie."

"I do have Julie," Brownie says with a self-satisfied smile. "You'll find somebody."

It doesn't make Tyler feel that much better, but Brownie means well. And there's always summer.

*

Big Z has a few words for them at the end of a team meeting the last week of February, and then he nods at Ference who comes up to the front of the room with him.

"I'm going to forward you all an email from Patrick Burke," Ference says. "He has a couple of players interested in coming out publicly as part of the You Can Play stuff, and he's letting everyone know about it in case anyone else wants to be part of it."

Ference is looking at everyone as he talks, but Tyler can feel his cheeks heating up.

"No pressure," Ference says. "This is a personal decision that anyone who's gay or bi has to make for themselves. But if anyone wants to, this team is behind you all the way. And anyone who isn't will have to answer to us."

Ference isn't particularly threatening, but Big Z crosses his arms over his chest behind him.

There's a ripple of stifled laughter, and Ference turns to look behind him and grins at Big Z.

"Anyway, if anyone wants to be part of it, you can email Burkie, or one of us can introduce you. And if not, that's cool too." Ference sits down, and so does Big Z, and Coach reminds them about skate time tomorrow, and then dismisses them.

Tyler gets the email later, and a second one from Ference that's just to him.

> You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. If you don't want to be out, don't be. If you do, this might be a good way to do it.

Tyler closes his laptop and takes Marshall to the park instead of sitting there thinking about it.

*

Tyler sleeps on it and Skypes Brownie the next day to talk about it.

"You wouldn't have to worry about going out in Boston," Brownie says.

Tyler slumps down into the couch. "I know. I could hook up or date or whatever. Meet guys I could actually see more than once."

"Okay, so," Brownie says. "That's the upside."

Tyler tips his head back to look at the ceiling. "I don't want people to hate me. Or, like, get traded."

"Downsides," Brownie says. "Dude, I don't know why you're talking to me about this. It's not my choice."

Tyler sighs heavily. "I want advice," he says.

"I don't know," Brownie says. "I guess it depends on how much you want to go out to gay bars in Boston. Or, like, how much you want to go out anywhere without someone outing you. You should call Wally."

Tyler makes a face. He knows he should call Wally, but he's just going to get chewed out for not telling him earlier so he could be on top of things. "He's going to be in town next week."

"And you're going to put it off until then," Brownie says.

"Better if I think about it, right?" Tyler says.

"I guess," Brownie says doubtfully. "Hey, you know I've got your back no matter what you do, right?"

Tyler smiles at him. "Yeah, dude, I know."

*

The first thing Marchy says the next time he and Tyler are in the same place without anyone else around is, "Are you going to do it?"

Tyler doesn't need to ask to know what he's talking about. "I don't know," he says.

"You wouldn't have to leave the state to get laid," Marchy says.

Tyler grins at him. "That's the best reason to do it."

"You probably shouldn't say that if you do," Marchy says. "They're going to want to hear about you being a role model or being true to yourself or some shit like that."

Tyler groans. "If I do it, they're going to make me talk about it."

"You're just figuring that out?"

"Shut up," Tyler says. "I'm still stuck on whether or not I want people to know."

"If they know," Marchy says, "you're going to have to talk about it, probably a lot."

Well, that's another downside to think about.

*

"I cannot believe," Wally says when Tyler tells him, the second day he's in town, "that you didn't tell me this earlier. Jesus, Tyler, you're supposed to tell me these kinds of things so I know what to do if it gets leaked."

"I know," Tyler says.

"And you went out? To gay bars?" He barely waits for Tyler's nod before he keeps going. "You _know_ every cell phone has a camera these days. I can't believe you did that. You're so lucky no one's outed you yet."

"I know," Tyler says. "I know all of that, and if I did this thing You Can Play is doing, I would be out and I wouldn't have to worry about that anymore."

Wally sighs. "You're enough of a star that you might be a hockey player who's gay, but if you do it, you need to be prepared for people to think you're gay first and a hockey player second. Every interview you do is going to ask about it."

Tyler nods. He gets that part now. "That's why I'm talking to you. What do you think I should do?"

Wally's silent for a minute. "Have you thought about endorsements?"

Tyler blinks. "No."

"You'll probably keep Bauer, maybe Under Armour, but there's a chance you'll lose Dunkin' or one of the other ones."

"Are you saying I shouldn't do it?" Tyler asks after a moment.

"No," Wally says. "I'm saying you need to think about the fucked up reality you're stepping into if you do."

That's a grimmer assessment of it than anyone else has given him.

"Look," Wally says, "it's ultimately up to you. If you do it, we'll do what we can to keep your endorsements and, I don't know, maybe there are other ones we can get for you, but you need to really think about it. And you need to tell me shit so I can be prepared for it."

Tyler winces. "That's it, I promise."

Wally looks at him sharply, but that really is it, so Tyler can meet his eyes without flinching.

*

They're not going to be in Toronto for a while, so Tyler does the next best thing to visiting his mom and Skypes her. He lays out the entire situation for her, and she listens without interrupting because she's his mom and she's awesome.

"I don't know what to do," he says at the end of it.

"Oh, honey," Mom says. "Part of being an adult is making hard choices. You've been sheltered from a lot of that by your career, but everyone has to make tough choices sometimes. This is one of yours."

Tyler blinks away tears - whatever, it's his _mom_ , and she's talking about him being an adult - and says, "I wish it were easier."

"I do too," Mom says. "You have no idea how much I wish that for you. But neither of your choices are all that easy. All you can ever do is your best, and know that your family is going to love you no matter what."

Tyler rubs tears out of his eyes and gets Mom to talk to him about something else for a while. He still doesn't know what he's going to do, but it's better to know that Mom's behind him no matter what.

*

It takes him another week to do it, but Tyler sits down on a free afternoon and calls Patrick Burke. He could email, but he doesn't really want to put anything in writing. Not that he thinks Burke would do anything with it or anything like that. He's just being careful. Belatedly, sure, but still. Careful.

Burke answers his phone with a cool, "This is Patrick Burke."

"Um, hi," Tyler says. "This is Tyler Seguin."

"Hi, Tyler," Burke says. "What can I do for you?"

Tyler takes a deep breath. "I got your email, or Ference and Big Z forwarded it, about players coming out."

"Yes," Burke says, and it's cautious.

"I'm gay," Tyler says.

There's a bare second of silence before Burke asks, "Do you want to come out?" and it's still cautious, but there's something else there, like banked excitement.

"I don't know," Tyler says. "Maybe. I want to know about what you're doing before I decide for sure."

"First of all," Burke says, and this time he sounds confident and sure, "I want to promise you this conversation is completely confidential. Neither You Can Play as an organization nor I as an individual are in the business of outing people who don't want to be out. I've had similar confidential conversations with other players interested in coming out, and I would no more tell them I've talked to you than I will tell you who they are."

Tyler breathes a little easier at that.

"The players who've approached us," Burke goes on, "are in agreement that this will be easier if it's not just one person, and that's how we're planning to do this. You Can Play has been based around video PSAs, and we'd like to continue with that. What we want to do is have everyone film a short segment where they come out, and we'll put them together into a video with an accompanying press release. For anyone who's comfortable with it, we'll do additional videos where you can talk about it, or you can come out and we'll work with you and your team to make sure you don't have to talk about it any more than that. Our crew will all have signed NDAs, and you'll be able to change your mind up until forty-eight hours before the video goes live."

It's a lot of information to take in all at once. "Wow," Tyler says.

Burke chuckles a little. "I know, it can be overwhelming, but we want to make sure that anyone who does this can do it on their own terms and that you're sure this is what you want."

"Yeah," Tyler says, "I want to be sure too. Can I think about it and get back to you?"

"Absolutely," Burke says. "We've already started shooting segments, and we're looking at releasing the video just before the end of the season. We're guessing the playoffs will be the bigger story, and that should minimize the media intrusion, and by the time next season starts, it'll just be a part of reality."

That gives Tyler a little bit of time to make sure he really wants to do this. "Okay," he says. "I'll think about it, and get back to you soon."

"Okay," Burke says. "Whatever you decide is your decision, but know that we'd be glad to have you be part of this."

"Thanks," Tyler says, and then they say goodbye and he hangs up with shaking hands.

*

The first person he tells about his decision is Fred, because Fred comes home from class while Tyler's sitting on the couch, mindlessly petting Marshall in the silence while he looks down at his phone, scrolling through his contacts over and over again trying to decide who he should call.

"What are you doing sitting around in the dark?" Fred goes around the room turning on lamps.

"It's not dark," Tyler says, even though it's gotten a lot darker than he realized.

"Not now." Fred crouches down in front of the couch and tussles with Marshall for a minute. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to come out," Tyler says.

"Whoa," Fred says. "Like, to everyone?"

"Yes." Tyler puts his phone down so he can use both hands to rub behind Marshall's ears. Marshall is so uncomplicated. "You Can Play is doing a thing, a bunch of players coming out. I'm going to do it."

"Wow," Fred says. "Every gay dude in Boston is going to want to get into your pants. Not that they don't already."

Tyler laughs and throws a pillow at him.

"No, really," Fred says. "You're going to get so laid."

"That's the idea," Tyler admits.

Fred cracks up. "Dude, this is the farthest anyone has ever gone to get laid."

"Shut up." Tyler throws another pillow at him. "I can get laid. This is so I can get laid without worrying about getting outed."

Fred gathers both the pillows and stacks them on his lap. "Huh. I guess that's a good idea."

"Yep." Tyler looks down at Marshall and watches Fred out of the corner of his eye. "It might make things harder when we party."

Fred shrugs. "You're already a distraction. We're all used to it." He rests his elbows on his short stack of pillows. "You might want to tell the rest of the crew first."

Tyler stops petting Marshall and flops back against the couch. "There are so many people I have to tell first. It would be easier if I could just do it once."

*

He can't do it once. He calls Burke first, Wally second, and then Mom, Dad, his sisters, Brownie, Marchy, and Ference. Dad is the only one who isn't sure it's such a great idea, but it's more of a feeling Tyler gets from the conversation and not something he says out loud. What he says out loud is, "If this is what you want, I'll support you," which isn't him telling Tyler not to do it.

Then there are the other people he has to tell.

The Boston crew is easiest, in some ways. Tyler and Fred have everyone over for pizza and video games, and while everyone is silently biting into their first bites of pizza, Tyler clears his throat to get their attention.

"This isn't just about pizza," he says, his own first slice sitting untouched on the plate on his lap. There's no way he's going to be able to eat until he does this. "Um, I'm gay, and I'm going to come out, like, publicly."

Brian chokes on his pizza and has to be patted on the back.

"You?" Chase says. "But you and all those girls."

Tyler rolls his eyes. "I haven't hooked up with any of them in like a year. And I, uh, didn't really know about myself before that, so."

"I can't believe I ever dated you," Ciara says. "You are seriously the dumbest person I know."

"I am not!" Tyler looks around for help, and doesn't get any.

"Sorry," Fred says with a shrug. "You are kind of dumb."

"How do you just not know that about yourself?" Brian asks.

"I don't know," Tyler says. "I just didn't."

"When he had a chance with girls like me," Ciara says, "why would he even think of anything else?"

Tyler laughs with everyone else, and he manages to eat a couple of slices of pizza around everyone's questions about dating and how he's going to come out and who already knows.

Tyler catches up to Ciara later and says, "You know it wasn't anything about you, right?"

"Oh, baby," she says, "of course I do." She hugs him. "And if these," she gestures at her boobs, "couldn't make you like girls, nothing can."

Tyler's pretty sure Ciara wouldn't have been it for him even if he were into girls, although she's a good friend now, but he laughs instead of telling her that.

*

Wally goes with him to a closed-door meeting with management and coaches that's probably the most uncomfortable meeting Tyler's ever been in. Some of them are totally cool, some of them not so much, but no one tells him he can't do it.

After that, walking into a team meeting to tell the boys is easy in comparison. He knows Marchy, Ference, and Big Z, at least, have his back.

Coach lets him have the floor, and Tyler stays in his chair because he's nervous enough that he's not sure his legs will hold him if he tries to stand up in front of the room. "Yeah," he says, "that email Ference and Z sent us, from Patrick Burke." He takes a deep breath. "I'm gay, and I'm going to come out with the other players who want to."

"You?" Krejci says with a laugh.

Tyler shrugs and nods. "Me. And I'm not dating anyone, so if, uh, you know anyone and you want to play matchmaker." He spreads his hands. "I'm up for that."

Coach calls them back together for the rest of their meeting, and PR steps in to say that the NHL's official position is that they support all players but no one has to talk about it if they don't want to, and Tyler's heart doesn't stop beating too fast until after the meeting when a handful of guys come up to say they support him.

Dougie's one of the last ones, and he looks at Tyler for a long minute.

"What?" Tyler hunches his shoulders.

Dougie blinks and shakes his head. "Of course I'm cool with it. Is that why you and Marchy were always sneaking off on road trips?"

Tyler gapes at him. "You knew about that?"

Dougie rolls his eyes. "You aren't that sneaky."

Tyler shakes his head, trying to wrap his mind around Dougie actually knowing they were doing something, and not saying or asking anything about it. "Yeah," he finally says. "Couldn't risk going out in Boston, so we went out on the road."

"Makes sense," Dougie says. "Guess you'll get to go out in Boston now."

Tyler grins at him. "That's the plan."

*

Things move kind of fast after that. Tyler mostly concentrates on his game, but he also has to sit down with the film crew for You Can Play. Burke actually comes with them, and he smiles pretty much the whole time.

There are lines Tyler has to say to fit into the plan of their video. That part goes pretty quickly, just three sentences - they do second and third takes so they can choose the best one - and then they can move on. Tyler already agreed to do a segment talking about himself, and that one's the hard part.

"Relax," Burke says. "This is about you. We'll make you look good, but the base of it is whatever you want to say."

Tyler doesn't necessarily want to say anything, but he knows what he's getting into with this, and if he's going to be out, he feels like he should do something with it other than just go to gay bars.

"Just talk to the camera," Burke says. "Like it's someone you know."

It's stupid advice, because it's not someone Tyler knows, and what he actually told the people he knows won't play well for the cameras. Tyler may only be twenty-two, but he's been representing his team in front of cameras for four years; he knows what kinds of things to say.

They point to him when the camera's on, and Tyler takes a deep breath and starts talking. "My friends all make fun of me for being just a dumb hockey player because I didn't know I was gay until recently, but I was a hockey player, and all my life hockey players only dated girls." He shrugs. "I never thought about doing anything else. That's not the way it has to be, and if you're a gay player, you're not the only one."

Tyler says a lot of other stuff too. They ask him questions and get him to talk about it a little bit, but the rest of it mostly passes in a blur, until they tell him they're done.

Burke shakes his hand before he leaves. "Thank you so much," he says. "It's great that you're doing this." His smile dims a little, and he says, "And remember, if you change your mind, we'll pull you from the ad."

"Thanks," Tyler says. He's pretty sure he's not going to chicken out now, but it's nice to know he has the option.

*

The season grinds on after that, game after practice after charity event. Tyler hooks up with a guy Marchy finds for him in a bar in New York and ducks out of a gay bar in Chicago where he gets too many looks to be comfortable. He goes on a date with a guy Krejci knows who turns out to still be hung up on his ex and makes Krejci make it up to him with dinner out with some of the boys.

Two days before the ad is scheduled to go public, Tyler stares down at Burke's name on his phone for so long Marshall comes over and noses at his hands to see what he's doing.

Tyler rubs behind his ears. "Nothing interesting, buddy. You want to go for a walk? Yeah, I bet you do." He leaves his phone at home and takes Marshall for a long walk around the neighborhood, letting Marshall decide where he wants to go.

Fred's in the living room with a couple of books around him - he's winding down toward finals, which means a lot of studying all over the apartment - when Tyler and Marshall get home. Fred grins and pets Marshall when he rushes over to him, tail wagging.

Tyler picks up his phone and skims through the messages he's missed. He still has an hour left before the forty-eight-hour deadline. "Want to go get lunch?" he asks Fred. "I'm buying."

"Hell yes you're buying," Fred says. "Right now?"

"Yes." Tyler shoves his phone into his pocket. "Wherever you want to go."

"Anywhere I want to go?"

"Yes," Tyler says. "Anywhere. Let's go."

Fred looks at him suspiciously and gets his shoes and makes Tyler buy him steak. The distraction is more than worth the cost, even when Fred insists on ordering dessert too. They sit there talking even after that, and by the time Fred makes them leave because he has class, it's well past the deadline, and Tyler's going to be out to the whole world in less than two days.

*

The ad goes live at noon on Thursday, along with an accompanying press release. They have a game that night, and at noon they're just getting out of morning skate. There's lunch set up in the lounge, and Tyler makes himself get a plate and sit down. He needs to eat, no matter how nervous this is making him.

Ference sits next to him. "Watched it yet?"

Tyler shakes his head.

"Do you want to?"

"I should," Tyler says.

Ference looks at him for a long, long minute, and then he goes and messes around until he gets the ad up on the TV screen across the room.

Tyler takes a deep breath and nods at him, and Ference tells everyone to shut up and lets the ad play.

It starts out with each of them saying their names, and Tyler doesn't look too awkward looking into the camera and saying, "I'm Tyler Seguin." The next part is each of them saying, "I'm gay," except for the two guys who say, "I'm bisexual." And then there's the last part, where they've cut it together so each of them says half of the "If you can play, you can play" tagline, repeated over and over until they've all been on the screen again.

The boys clap for him, and Tyler breathes for the first time since the ad started playing.

Ference catches him in a one-armed hug before he sits down again, and they dig into their lunches.

Tyler doesn't read the press release that goes with the ad until after he gets home, and he can't bring himself to watch the other video, where he talks about being gay. He retweets the You Can Play tweet about the main video, and doesn't even want to think about looking at his replies.

The steady trickle of missed texts he has after he gets home from skate has turned into too many for him to even think about dealing with after he gets up from his nap. He skims through them for things he has to answer - his family, Brownie, Wally - and looks at a couple of others from friends, and then gives it up. There'll be even more after the game, and he can work on replying to people tomorrow.

Once he's back at the rink, he locks his phone away, takes a few deep breaths, and lets go of the whole thing. He has a game to prepare for and play, and that's what matters. The boys don't treat him any differently than they usually do, and by the time they go out for warmups, Tyler has his head in the game.

He's focused on what he's doing, not thinking about the early crowd or what he has to do in the game, just the here and now of drills and skating.

Dougie is the one to nudge him and point him toward the glass. It's like surfacing out of a dream to pay attention again.

In the midst of all the other fans with signs is a guy with a piece of posterboard that says, in slightly crooked capital letters, "TYLER WILL YOU GO OUT WITH ME?"

Tyler can feel himself turning bright red, and it only gets worse when Dougie's involvement catches the other D-men's notice and they're all laughing at the sign.

Tyler smiles at the fan to acknowledge him, and then turns to get himself in line for his turn to take a shot on Tuukka in goal.

"Going to take him up on it?" Marchy asks after Tyler shoots.

"No," Tyler says with a laugh. "Nice that they're doing that, I guess."

Big Z is also hovering near their conversation, and there's a serious look on his face when he tells Tyler, "Security is watching the signs."

Tyler shrugs. Security always keeps an eye on the signs to make sure nothing too inappropriate for press coverage makes it into pictures or on TV.

Marchy is the one to eye Big Z and Tyler and ask, "Are there problems?"

Big Z shrugs. "Not right now." He pats Tyler's shoulder. "We will not let them make problems for you."

"Uh, thanks," Tyler says. He looks around at the signs lining the glass. There's still only the one directed at him. Maybe he's better off focusing on warmups.

They finish warmups and skate off for the break between then and the start of the game. Tyler's starting, and his name comes out of the loudspeakers as he skates onto the ice. There are a lot of cheers, but he can hear some boos mixed in. If they were away, he would expect them, but this is more booing than he usually gets at a home game.

Well, the slogan is, "If you can play, you can play," so he'll just have to show them he can play.

He looks down the line, and over at the bench, and the boys all look just as determined as he feels.

It's not an easy game. None of them are easy, exactly, but they have to keep working at this one, battling for pucks, avoiding turnovers, relying just as much on physical presence as skill with the puck.

There's a break in play in the second. Tyler's on the bench between shifts at the moment anyway, which means he's in the right place to see the screen when they start playing the ad. Coach is talking to them, but Tyler doesn't catch most of it, waiting for the moment when he shows up on screen. There's a cheer for the part where he says, "I'm Tyler Seguin," and then things get quiet when it cuts to the second part. There's a mix of scattered cheering and booing when he says, "I'm gay," and a little more cheering than booing when he says his part of "If you can play, you can play."

Coach loses all of their attention after that, because it's a long enough break that they play the second video, the one Tyler hasn't watched yet, the one where he talks about being gay. There's a respectful silence when it starts out with him talking about not knowing he was gay and about wanting to be an example for other hockey players that you can be gay and play hockey. The silence turns to laughs when he grins and says, "And I want to be able to go out and date people and not be worried that someone is going to out me."

The video ends with the You Can Play logo on the screen, and Tyler's entire team bangs their sticks against the boards for him. It's too loud for just that, and when he looks, the Flyers are also supporting him, and most of the noise from the crowd is cheering and clapping.

They put Tyler's face on the screen, and he manages to smile instead of the ridiculously stunned expression that was on his face when they turned the camera on him.

Tyler has two shifts to get himself together before he's back out on the ice, and then it's more or less easy to shake off everything else and focus on what he's supposed to be doing.

They're up by two when the period ends, and the mood in the room is upbeat.

"We should start a pool," Krejci says. "How many dates Segs gets out of that pair of ads."

Tyler throws a towel at him. "I don't need ads to get me dates."

"I'm not putting money on it," Dougie says, "but it's probably going to be a lot." And here Tyler thought he was loyal.

Tyler doesn't have a towel to throw at Dougie, so he settles for flipping him off. "Fuck you," he says. "I don't need publicity to get me dates."

"That's how you got girls," Krejci says.

"But not dudes," Marchy says. "Kid's got game with the gay boys." At least someone's on Tyler's side. "This is just going to expand his dating pool to include the ones who want to date a celebrity." Or maybe not.

"Fuck all of you," Tyler says. He's kind of laughing, though, because the chirping is the same kind of shit they give everyone. No one's hassling him because he's gay, or because they disagree with him being out.

They settle down a little into their intermission routines, and Coach comes to give them a talk they all pay attention to.

They dominate in the third period, and win by two, which means they're all still in a good mood and making plans to go out after the game.

But there's media to talk to first, and most of them gather around Tyler. He takes a couple of steps out into the room so there's room for other guys to get to their stalls around him, and then he smiles at everyone and takes questions.

No one asks about the game.

Tyler kind of knew it would be like this, but he didn't realize that every single question was going to be about him being gay.

He tells them he's single, says the same things he said in his video about coming out to be an example to other hockey players, says his family supports him.

"How much contact did you have with the other players in the video?" Naoko asks him.

"None," Tyler says, and everyone looks surprised, "everyone filmed their own parts separately. I didn't even know who else was doing it until I watched the video earlier."

That sets off another flurry of questions about the video that Tyler does his best to answer calmly and carefully. It takes a while, probably longer than any other media scrum he's ever been a part of.

Tyler's the last one out of the showers. A couple of the boys are still hanging around.

"Get a move on," Marchy says. "Everyone else already went to the bar. They didn't want to wait for your slow ass."

Tyler flips him off and gets dressed. He shoves a toque onto his head - it's going to leave his hair kind of a mess when they get to the bar, but they had a late snowstorm yesterday and it's too cold to go without - and says, "You're buying me a beer," to Marchy as they leave.

Marchy says, "You wish," but he does get Tyler's first drink when they get to the bar.

There are always people looking at them when they go out, and more so when there are this many of them at a bar together, but there's something just enough different about it tonight that it has to be about the ad. About Tyler.

He does his best to ignore it and just drink with the boys instead, Krejci and Marchy calling out toasts to every good play they had that evening, and even Dougie calling out a toast to Tuuks' best save.

Their group starts to split up a little after a while. Dougie flirts with some girl at the bar, Katrina shows up and Marchy takes her to the bar to get her a drink and show off that he has a hot girlfriend, a couple of the other boys get up to go hit on girls.

Tyler's still at the table, but he's kind of on an edge now, no one between him and the rest of the bar, and a girl comes up and smiles at him. She's pretty hot, if Tyler were into that.

Tyler smiles back because that's always what he does. "Hi."

"Hi." The girl leans forward so Tyler could see down her shirt if he wanted to. "Want to buy me a drink?"

Tyler probably should have thought about how to deal with this now. Before, he would have just bought her a drink and flirted before getting out of there without her, but now he doesn't have to.

"Uh, I'm gay," he says, "but I'll buy you a drink if you want."

The girl's smile dims. "Figures," she says, and she walks away from the table.

Ference is the first one to start laughing. "I guess not all of Boston knows about you yet."

Tyler finds himself smiling too. It is kind of funny, especially the way the girl left.

"Just wait," Ference says, patting him on the shoulder. "Once everyone knows, it'll be guys trying to pick you up."

Tyler holds up his beer. "I'll drink to that."

No one else tries to pick Tyler up, and he leaves when Ference and Bergy do. It's a little early for him to call it a night, but he's ready to put the day behind him and move on. How long can it take for the world to get used to him being out?

*

Tyler answers questions about himself in every one of his interviews for the next week, both the usual media scrums and a couple of newly scheduled interviews. But after a week of saying the same things over and over again, he gets sick of it and goes to talk to PR.

"Everyone knows," he says when he's sitting down with Jessica from PR. "I don't see why I have to keep talking about it."

"You're one of the first openly gay players in the NHL," Jessica says. "It comes with the territory. But we can talk to reporters about not asking during your regular media scrums, and we'll get You Can Play and the PA involved if you need backup on that. You'll probably have to say, 'Let's stick to talking about the game,' a lot, and you'll need to talk to your agent about interviews that aren't scheduled through us."

Tyler nods. "I can do that." He knows PR isn't magic, and there's only so much they can do. "Thanks."

*

He gets hit on in Boston for the first time three days after his meeting with PR. He's at a bar with Fred and a bunch of his Boston crew. They're two beers in, mostly just shooting the shit and keeping an eye on the crowd.

They send Tyler to the bar for another pitcher - he grumbles about it, but mostly for show - and he pushes his way through the crowd to lean over the bar and order. He orders two pitchers while he's there - it's not like they're not going to drink that much.

There's a guy a few feet away staring at him as he places the order. Tyler does his best to ignore it. He gets stared at a lot in Boston, and he's thinking fan, not potential hookup.

The guy moves while Tyler's waiting for his pitchers, gets around the people between them and crowds in next to Tyler. "You're Tyler Seguin," the guy says.

Tyler kind of smiles at him. "Yeah."

The guy tilts his head up - he's a couple of inches shorter than Tyler - to meet Tyler's eyes, and he smiles slowly. "So you're gay." The guy looks him up and down. "Want to forget whatever you're drinking and fuck?"

That was not what Tyler was expecting. If he were in a gay bar, that kind of blunt offer wouldn't surprise him, but he's not. He's in one of the bars they hang out in all the time, and he thought if anyone were going to hit on him here, they would start with buying him a drink, or asking him to buy them one, like girls do sometimes.

"Uh," Tyler says. The guy's kind of hot, and if Tyler had come out to try to pick up, he might say yes. But he's here to hang out with friends, and he gets the sense the guy is one of the people who just wants to say they hooked up with Tyler Seguin. "Sorry," he tells the guy. "I'm here with friends." He accepts the pitchers and his credit card slip from the bartender and pushes his way through the crowd, toward his friends and away from the guy.

It shouldn't feel weird. Tyler's used to getting hit on because he's famous, and he knows he's going to get some of that from guys. It does feel weird, though. Maybe just because it's the first time, or maybe because he wasn't expecting it at one of the places where he's a regular.

The only open seat at the table when Tyler gets back is one facing away from the bar, which suits Tyler just fine. Now he doesn't have to know if the guy is still watching him.

*

Being out means that Tyler can go out wherever he wants in Boston. It'll probably show up online, but at least it'll just be another story about him partying and not someone outing him without his permission.

He thinks about going alone, but instead he talks Marchy into going with him to be his wingman.

"You don't even need one," Marchy says. "What if I want to have a quiet night in with Katrina?"

"You can bring her if you want," Tyler says. "Come on. I don't know the scene in Boston. Just check it out with me."

"Fine," Marchy says with a sigh. "But the moment you pick up, I'm out of there."

"Deal," Tyler says.

They both ask around and Tyler googles a little bit, and they end up in a place that has more of a club atmosphere. Marchy brought Katrina, so Tyler buys all three of them shots they do at the bar, and then they look around at the place. There are people at the bar, but most of the guys in the place are on the dance floor. Tyler watches for just long enough to get the lay of the land, and then he pushes off of the bar and wades into the crowd.

Tyler doesn't expect to be alone for long, and he's not. He gets some looks from the crowd, and after a minute, a guy comes over to dance with him. The guy isn't bad, pretty good dancer, and cute enough. He barely looks at Tyler's face, though, and when someone else comes up to him, Tyler turns away from him toward the new guy.

Tyler trades dance partners for a little bit, grinning at every new guy because fuck, yes, he loves dancing and the attention feels good, kind of like the roar of the crowd when he scores.

A little while later, he dances with a guy who puts his hands on Tyler's hips and looks straight into his eyes while he pulls him closer until they're grinding together. There are people watching them, and it doesn't matter. He's not going to get in trouble for this now, or at least not any more than he's ever gotten in for partying.

Tyler moves even closer to the guy, so he can feel the guy's dick against his, only their jeans between them. They're both hard, and it's even hotter when the guy leans in close and breathes against Tyler's neck as they move together.

Tyler already has an arm around the guy's waist, and he squeezes his hip to get his attention. "Want to get out of here?"

The guy says, "Yes," right into Tyler's ear and follows it up with pressing a sucking kiss to his jaw.

Tyler pulls away just enough that he can move, and he takes the guy's hand so they don't get separated on their way off the dance floor. He doesn't see Marchy and Katrina on the way out, so he pulls out his phone and texts Marchy as he walks.

By the time they get out of the club, Tyler has a text back that says, _Why did you even make me come with you?_

Tyler turns his phone off and shoves it into his pocket.

"We can go to my place, but I have roommates," the guy says.

"I have a roommate and a dog," Tyler says, "but they'll stay out of our way."

"Cool," the guy says. "Are we cabbing it?"

"My car's around the corner. I'm Tyler, by the way."

"Travis."

Travis sticks close to Tyler's side as they walk, not quite touching but close enough that Tyler can feel the heat coming off of him in contrast to the cooler air outside.

Travis doesn't even blink at Tyler's car, just slides into the passenger seat and palms his dick through his jeans.

Tyler stares at him, keys forgotten in his hand.

Travis smirks at him. "You want this."

Tyler nods, too stunned by how much he really wants this to say anything.

"So drive," Travis says, "and when we get to your place, you can have whatever you want."

Tyler swallows and starts the car. It's not just that Travis is hot - which he is - it's also that it's been a while since he last got laid, and it's also that it's different now that he doesn't have to hide this from anyone.

He throws glances over at Travis as he drives, and Travis is looking at him every time.

It's almost a miracle that Tyler gets them home without crashing the car. Then there's the walk up to the door, and then he unlocks the door only to have Marshall greet him with as much excitement as if Tyler had been gone for a month rather than just a couple of hours.

"Hi, buddy." Tyler crouches down and rubs behind Marshall's ears. "Were you a good boy for Fred?" He pats Marshall. "I bet you were." He glances behind him, and Travis is leaning against the door looking mostly bored with the proceedings.

Tyler stands up. "Marshall, go lie down." He points toward Marshall's doggie bed, and Marshall whines at him for a second before he goes. Fred isn't anywhere to be seen and Tyler talking to Marshall didn't bring him into the living room, which means either he went out or he's already in his room.

"Uh, sorry," Tyler says to Travis. "Sometimes he thinks he's still a puppy. My room's this way."

Travis pushes off the door hips first, drawing Tyler's attention to the outline of his cock. Tyler drags his eyes up Travis's body to his face.

Travis is smirking at him, and Tyler turns around as he feels his cheeks heat and leads Travis to his room. He turns on the light and closes the door behind them.

"You want this?" Travis rubs his cock.

"Yes," Tyler says. Travis wasn't charmed by Marshall, but that doesn't mean Tyler's stopped wanting to suck his cock. Tyler's mouth waters as Travis unzips his pants.

Travis isn't wearing anything under his jeans, just hair and skin showing through his open fly. He takes his cock out without taking off his pants, and he strokes it a couple of times. "Well? Come and get it."

Tyler swallows and doesn't even look up at Travis's face as he walks forward and goes to his knees. He only looks up after he takes Travis's cock into his mouth, so ready for it he takes Travis a little too deep at first.

"Oh, yeah," Travis says. "You want it."

Tyler makes himself more comfortable around Travis's cock. He does want it, loves the way it feels to slide his tongue up the underside of Travis's cock and watch Travis's thighs tremble.

Travis's hands settle into Tyler's hair, which is fine, good. He likes being touched, and he doesn't mind Travis tilting his head to change the angle, get his cock better centered in Tyler's mouth.

"There you go," Travis says, and he pulls on Tyler's hair. It's not too hard, but it's not that good either.

Tyler could probably pull away and tell Travis not to do that, but Travis pets his hair instead of pulling it when Tyler makes a noise around him.

"Not into that part?" Travis says. "It's all good." He moves one of his hands to Tyler's cheek, thumb tugging at the corner of Tyler's mouth. "Come on, baby."

Tyler looks up and Travis meets his eyes.

"That's it," Travis said. "Fuck, you're good at this. I knew when I saw you on the dance floor that it would be good."

Tyler keeps looking up at Travis as he sucks him, watching Travis watch him back. He slides one hand up Travis's shirt to rest over his stomach, and bobs his head, letting Travis's cock rub against the roof of his mouth and his tongue.

He can taste salt on his tongue even before Travis moans, "Yes, baby. That's it. Gonna make me come. Come on."

Tyler sucks harder, draws back so he can flick his tongue over the head of Travis's cock. There's another rush of fluid, and Tyler bobs his head a couple more times before Travis comes, flooding his mouth. Tyler swallows as much as he can, but some of it drips down his chin.

"Fuck," Travis says, and he goes down on his knees in front of Tyler. "Fuck," he says again, and he leans in to kiss Tyler, lick over his chin. "Baby, that was so hot." He unbuttons Tyler's jeans, draws the zipper down, and reaches into his boxer briefs. "So fucking hot."

He kisses Tyler a lot while he jerks him off, hand moving fast and sure over Tyler's cock. Tyler would probably jerk himself off slower, but he's hard enough from dancing and sucking Travis that the rush toward coming feels good.

"That's it, baby," Travis says. "Come on, give it up for me." He keeps kissing Tyler, and his free hand grabs Tyler's ass, squeezing and kneading, and pushing him into Travis's grip on his cock.

Tyler has Travis's tongue in his mouth when he comes, and all he can do is moan around it and feel his orgasm rock through him.

Travis stops kissing him right about when he takes his hand off his cock, and Tyler looks down to see that he's come all over his shirt, and Travis only makes it worse by wiping his hand off on it.

"That was so hot," Travis says, and then he stands up and tucks himself back into his jeans and ten seconds later, he looks just as put together as he did when he started dancing with Tyler in the club.

"Yeah," Tyler says, belatedly joining the conversation. "Yeah, it was." He gets up off the floor, because he thinks he should.

Travis flashes Tyler a smile and turns toward the door.

Tyler blinks at him for a second before his brain catches up with what's happening. "I'll walk you out."

"I think I can find your front door," Travis says.

Tyler strips off his shirt, buttons up his jeans, and follows Travis out anyway. He has to lock the door behind him, and he can make sure Marshall doesn't bother him.

Travis's eyes run up and down Tyler's chest when he turns as he opens the front door, but he doesn't say anything and he doesn't stay.

Marshall's asleep on his doggie bed, so there's nothing else for Tyler to do but turn off the lights, dump his clothes into his laundry basket, and take a shower. He puts on pajama pants and a t-shirt after his shower, and goes to wake Marshall up.

Marshall whines at him, but Tyler pets him and says, "Come on. Come on, buddy." He feels better climbing into bed with Marshall there, dog breath and all.

*

"I'm not going out with you again," Marchy declares when Tyler gets to practice. "You don't need a wingman. You just flash your abs and your shitty dance moves and guys fall all over themselves to get at you."

"My dance moves are not shitty!"

Marchy does some stupid looking move that's maybe supposed to be his impression of Tyler's dance moves.

"I do not look like that."

"How do you know? You've never seen yourself dance. It's the rest of us who have to look at you."

"Fuck you," Tyler says, but everyone else in the room is laughing and he can't help laughing a little too. "We'll go somewhere else next time. No dancing and I'll rely on you to be my wingman."

"Nope," Marchy says. "You're out and you don't need me to get you laid. You're on your own."

"Ference," Tyler calls, "you've still got my back, right?"

"No," Ference calls back cheerfully. "I've got a wife and kids to spend time with."

Tyler goes to the other side of the room and throws an arm around Dougie's shoulders. "How are your wingman skills?"

"Uh." Dougie's not a rookie anymore, but sometimes he still gets that deer in the headlights look.

"Never mind," Tyler sighs. He goes back to his own stall. "I guess I'll just die alone."

That sends a fresh wave of laughter through the room, and Tyler smirks at the boys before he pulls on the rest of his gear.

*

That still leaves the rest of the Boston crew, but Tyler doesn't really want to ask any of them to be his wingman. There's no real reason he can't - he's pretty sure at least one of them would say yes - but it just doesn't feel right. But then it turns out he doesn't have to because he's out with them, his last chance to really party before the end of the season and playoffs, the next time he meets anyone.

Most of the crew is trying to pick up, and Tyler's egging them on without participating, until Ciara comes back to the table being trailed by a pair of guys. They're both hot, of course, because Ciara doesn't mess around with anything less than that. The one right behind Ciara can't take his eyes off her ass. The one behind him looks like he's trying not to laugh.

Ciara waves at the guys when she gets to the table. "Shaun and Isaac," she says, without bothering to point out which one is which. "My friends," she says, waving at the table and not introducing any of them either.

Ciara slides into a tiny empty part of the booth, and the guy who's practically slavering over her squeezes in next to her, not that she minds, going by the way she looks at him from under her eyelashes. Tyler remembers that look, and he knows what it means for the guy.

The other guy ends up next to Tyler, still looking like he wants to laugh. "Hi," he says. "I'm Isaac."

"Tyler." Tyler shakes Isaac's hand and introduces him to the other guys close enough to talk to him.

Isaac says hi to everyone, but when the conversation starts up again, he leans close to Tyler instead. "So tell me," he says, "is she going to just chew him up and spit him out, or what?"

Tyler laughs. "Maybe," he says. "Ciara's cool, but she can be a little bit of a maneater. Depends on whether or not he can handle it."

Isaac looks across the table. "Fifty-fifty," he says. "Normally I'd give him better chances, but she looks like she knows what she's doing."

"She does," Tyler says.

Isaac arches his eyebrows at Tyler. "You and her?"

"Briefly," Tyler says, "a long time ago. I'm, uh, gay, so, you know, not now."

"So am I," Isaac says, and Tyler wonders if Ciara knew that when she brought Shaun and Isaac over, "but I wouldn't go for her."

Tyler shrugs. "It was a while ago. Uh, before I knew."

"Ah," Isaac says, "you're one of those."

Tyler frowns. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Isaac says. "Just that some people don't have that much self-awareness." He sips his beer. "Now me, I've known since I was old enough to know what gay meant."

"I guess we can't all be as good at it as you," Tyler says.

Isaac laughs. "Nah, you're not doing too bad. You're that Tyler, right? The one who just came out and is a big deal and everything?"

"I don't know about a big deal," Tyler says.

"It is," Isaac says. "Visibility is important."

Tyler nods, because, sure, that's probably true, but he doesn't know what else to say. He's already tired of talking about it.

Isaac sips his beer again and smiles. "So, Tyler, what do you do when you're not dating girls and being a role model for gay kids everywhere?"

Tyler doesn't know about that gay kids everywhere part - hockey players, yeah, but he doesn't think he's a role model for all kids - but the rest of the question is easy to answer. "Hockey, of course," he says, "video games, hanging out with my dog."

"What kind of dog?"

"Chocolate Lab. Marshall. He's a good dog." Tyler knows he's smiling, and that's probably good if Isaac's flirting with him and not just making conversation. Maybe good if he's just making conversation too.

"Nice," Isaac says. "My dog is in Vermont with my parents. Golden Retriever. Sometimes I miss her more than I miss my parents."

Tyler nods. "I spent part of last year overseas. I missed Marshall so much. And he was still just a puppy when I left. My sisters and my dad got to watch him grow up."

"Not the same seeing it in pictures, is it?"

"No."

"You didn't mention a boyfriend in that list of things you do," Isaac says.

"No." Tyler meets Isaac's eyes and holds his gaze.

Isaac's eyes flicker down to Tyler's mouth and back up again. "Tell me," he says, leaning in closer, "what are the chances Ciara picked up Shaun because she was bringing me over here to meet you?"

"Uh." Tyler looks across the table where Ciara's practically in Shaun's lap and Shaun looks like he's in ecstasy. Ciara looks like she's enjoying herself, but she's also been a good friend since they broke up. She could have been trying to help Tyler out too. "Maybe?"

"Hmm." Isaac drains his beer and puts the bottle down on the table. "This isn't a great place to get to know each other. There's a place a couple of blocks away that's open late and has amazing cheesecake."

Tyler looks at the rest of the table, but probably no one's going to mind if he takes off. "Yeah," he says, "let's go."

They stand up, and Isaac says something to Shaun while Tyler says goodbye to the rest of the table and puts up with the raised eyebrows and thinly veiled comments.

They're almost out of the bar when Chase, who was at the bar while Isaac and Tyler were saying goodbye yells, "Get it!" after them.

"Sorry," Tyler says. His cheeks are heating up, but it's dark enough outside, even with the streetlights, that maybe Isaac won't notice. "My friends are dicks."

"Nah," Isaac says. "Well, yes, but nice that they're supportive."

They are that, and Tyler concedes the point and lets Isaac take the lead as they head down the street. Isaac's "couple of blocks" turns out to be more like half a dozen, but they chat a little while they walk, the value of supportive friends and Boston at night.

The place where Isaac holds the door open for Tyler is a coffee shop, open late with dim lighting and comfortable looking couches and chairs in small clusters. It also has a bakery case at the counter, filled with more food than Tyler would have guessed from the outside of the shop. There's the promised cheesecake, and also two other kinds of cake, four kinds of cookies, biscotti, muffins, scones, and a couple of things Tyler can't even name.

Isaac nudges Tyler with an elbow. "Trust me on the cheesecake."

They each order a slice of cheesecake, and Tyler hands over his card to pay for them.

Isaac picks up both of their plates and leads Tyler around a wall that forms one side of the counter area and into a small, empty alcove. There's a small couch against the wall with a coffee table in front of it and a lamp hanging down from the ceiling that gives off just enough light to reach the table and the couch.

"We're lucky," Isaac says, taking one end of the couch. "Usually there are people in this corner."

Tyler sits on the other side of the couch and takes the plate Isaac hands him. It's a small enough couch that there's barely any space between them, and the way the walls surround them keeps them from seeing the rest of the coffee shop.

"People on dates?" Tyler guesses.

"Got it in one," Isaac says. "Try your cheesecake."

Tyler takes a bite, and Isaac was right in suggesting he order it. It's amazing, rich and creamy and not too sweet. "Wow."

Isaac smiles at him. "Now you know you can trust me."

"About cheesecake, at least," Tyler says. He watches Isaac take a bite of his cheesecake. "You know I play hockey. What do you do?"

"Marketing assistant for Anderson and Chase. We're a consulting firm specializing in innovative solutions for emerging companies."

"Huh," Tyler says, because he doesn't know what most of that means.

Isaac grins at him. "Mostly I run focus groups, find out what people think of our clients and their products."

"You've been good at getting me to tell you stuff," Tyler says.

"And I'm plying you with food," Isaac says, pointing his fork at Tyler, "which is a key to a successful focus group."

Tyler grins at him. "I'll come be part of your focus group if you feed me like this."

Isaac laughs. "Focus groups don't usually get anything this good. You're a special case."

Tyler may not know anything about focus groups, but that's the kind of thing he knows what to do with. "You don't bring everyone to have great cheesecake?"

"No," Isaac says. "You seemed worth it."

The lights are dim, but not dim enough to hide the fact that Tyler's blushing. He ducks his head and takes another bite of his cheesecake.

"What do you do when you're not running focus groups?" Tyler asks when he thinks he can look up without his face being quite so red.

"Video games and rock climbing," Isaac says.

"Rock climbing?"

"Yep. You get your thrills playing hockey, I get them climbing."

"Are there a lot of rocks to climb in Boston?"

Isaac chuckles. "Not really. There are a lot of climbing walls. I usually do that a couple of times a week, and there's some good climbing that you can get to for a weekend. You ever been?"

"I've done climbing walls a couple of times," Tyler says, "but not the real thing."

"It's awesome," Isaac says. "You should try it sometime."

Tyler shrugs. "Maybe someday. I can't really do anything that dangerous while I'm playing hockey."

Isaac blinks at him. "Really?"

"Really," Tyler says. "No skiing or snowboarding either."

"Damn," Isaac says.

"I get to play hockey, so," Tyler shrugs again, "it's worth it."

"You think so?"

"Hockey is all I ever wanted to do," Tyler says. "My mom says even when I was, like, three, the only toy I ever wanted was my hockey stick."

Isaac stares at him for a second, and then shakes his head. "Okay, sorry, stopped thinking like a date for a minute there and started thinking about marketing. I bet you're a really good role model for gay kids playing hockey."

"Uh, I guess," Tyler says.

"You don't really like talking about gay politics," Isaac says.

Tyler looks down at his cheesecake like he's going to find an answer there. "I don't really know much about them," he says, and then he takes a bite of his cheesecake.

Isaac hmms and says, "But you came out."

"Yes," Tyler says. He takes another bite of cheesecake so he doesn't have to say anything else. There's not enough of it left for this to work as a strategy for much longer.

Isaac quirks a smile at him. "I'll stop asking," he says. "You're not one of my focus groups I have to get to talk about a specific topic. Tell me something else about yourself. A story."

Tyler watches Isaac eat a bite of cheesecake while he takes a moment to think of something. He has plenty of Marshall stories, so he tells one of those, about him and Marshall and Cassidy. It's a good story, and Isaac laughs in all the right places and is smiling at the end of it. He counters with a story about his dog, and Tyler relaxes into the conversation.

They finish their cheesecake, but it's the kind of place where no one's going to kick them out, so they keep talking. A couple comes around the wall but goes away when they see that Tyler and Isaac have already claimed the couch.

Tyler shifts, tucking one leg under himself on the couch so he can turn toward Isaac while he talks. Isaac's eyes flick over him, and he sets one hand on Tyler's knee for a moment.

They don't even think about leaving until Tyler yawns three times in five minutes. "Sorry," he says. "I guess it's later than I thought."

"You're not really living up to your hard-partying reputation here," Isaac says.

"How much do you know about me?"

"Only a little," Isaac says. "I do have an interest in gay politics. I keep up with who's out around Boston. Do you want to go out again sometime?"

Isaac seems cool, and Tyler probably has to get used to other gay guys knowing something about him, so he says, "Yes," and they exchange phones to put in their numbers.

"Do you need a ride or something?" Tyler asks when they're outside. Another couple moved into their corner as soon as they got up from the couch. "My car's near the bar."

"No," Isaac says. "I live a couple of blocks that way." He points away from the bar. "I'm glad Ciara picked up Shaun."

"Me too."

Isaac steps closer, and Tyler holds his breath for a moment before he remembers that he doesn't have to worry about people seeing him anymore. Isaac says, "Call me," and kisses Tyler's cheek.

"Yeah," Tyler says. "Playoffs are about to start, so I'm gonna be pretty busy, but we can get dinner or something." He turns in toward Isaac and touches his chest. "It'll be a good break."

Isaac looks down at his hand and up at his face. "I'm looking forward to it."

*

It's not just that Tyler's busy with training during playoffs. He's also avoiding distractions from his game and trying to rest up as much as possible. But he's already distracted enough just thinking about Isaac, so he texts him from the road when they're about to have two days off.

_Coming home to Boston,_ he says. _Dinner tomorrow night?_

_That's last minute,_ Isaac sends back. _You're lucky I don't already have plans. Pick me up?_

Tyler gets Isaac to text him his address and they agree on a time. Because his focus is on the playoffs, Tyler doesn't spend much time worrying about what to wear. He just puts on one of the outfits he's been wearing a lot recently anyway, jams his phone into his pocket, and tells Fred he's going out.

Isaac kisses Tyler's cheek when he picks him up. Tyler returns the kiss and drives them downtown for dinner.

"Are you always a last-minute planner?" Isaac asks.

"No," Tyler says. "Playoffs are weird." He tells Isaac what playoffs mean, the importance and the schedule and the focus. "But we get breaks." He grins at Isaac. "To rest up and see our friends and whatever. Play with the dog."

"Go on dates," Isaac says.

"Yeah," Tyler says, "totally."

They have a good time over dinner, chatting about themselves and telling stories about Tyler's team and Isaac's job.

The waiter offers them dessert menus.

"I can't," Tyler says, "but you should if you want."

"Not if you can't," Isaac says.

"No, really," Tyler says. "If you want dessert, go for it."

"I have kind of a sweet tooth," Isaac admits after he does order the hot lava cake.

Tyler grins at him. "I would totally have some of that if it weren't playoffs. Just, you know, focus and eating healthy and all that." He does let Isaac talk him into taking a bite, just a tiny taste, of his cake, and it's all the better for not having had anything that sweet in a while.

He gets to taste it again, later, when he takes Isaac home with an apology for not being able to stay out any later, and they make out over the gearshift in the front seat of his car for fifteen minutes before Isaac tears himself away.

"Next time," Isaac says, pressing kisses to the stubble on Tyler's jaw, "maybe we could skip dinner."

Tyler groans, because he's starting to get hard and he's probably going to go home and jerk off before he falls asleep. "Yeah," he says. "I'll call you next time I'm free."

Isaac presses one last biting kiss to Tyler's lips. "I can't wait."

*

Isaac has to wait, because they drop their next game and the series drags out. Tyler could call him, but he doesn't think he can handle the distraction. Only when they've safely won the series and have three days off before the next game does he call.

"I thought you forgot about me," Isaac says.

"Sorry," Tyler says. "Playoffs. It's a weird time."

"I guess," Isaac says. "When do you want to skip dinner?"

Tyler flushes. He thought about making out with Isaac the last time he jerked off. "Uh, whenever. I'm good for the next couple of days."

"Why don't you come over tonight," Isaac says. "I'll make you breakfast tomorrow."

"Yeah," Tyler says. "Yeah, that sounds good."

They agree on a time, and Tyler makes sure to have dinner before he goes. He still needs his energy, even if they're skipping dinner as part of their date.

Isaac's place is a tiny studio up three flights of stairs, and Isaac is waiting in the doorway when Tyler gets up those stairs. Isaac smiles when Tyler comes down the hallway toward him, and Tyler smiles back, until he gets to the door and Isaac pulls him inside, kissing him as the door swings closed behind them.

Isaac pulls away after a minute and rubs his hand over Tyler's cheek. "This is quite the facial hair you have going."

"Playoff beard," Tyler says with a shrug.

"Hmm." Isaac rubs his hand down over Tyler's jaw. "Could be interesting."

Tyler flushes with heat and his mouth waters. "Yeah. Want to find out?"

Then Isaac kisses him again, hard and messy, and it's a small studio so it's not very many steps until Isaac is dropping onto the bed and pulling Tyler down with him. They're still dressed, but Tyler tries to do something about that, sitting up to get Isaac out of his shirt and fumbling at the button of his jeans. He's too distracted by Isaac rubbing against him and kissing Isaac, so he stops kissing him and moves down his body instead, rubbing his cheek lightly against Isaac's chest.

Isaac gasps. "That is interesting," he says, sounding strangled.

Tyler smiles into his skin and rubs his cheek down Isaac's stomach until he's right by Isaac's jeans and he can get them open. Isaac lifts his hips so Tyler can pull his jeans and underwear off. Tyler makes him wait for a second before he rubs his cheek against the crease of Isaac's thigh.

Isaac groans, so Tyler does it again on the other side, going around Isaac's cock without touching it.

Isaac grabs at him, fingers weaving through Tyler's hair to grip the back of his head. "Tyler," he says.

Tyler grins up at him for a second before he takes Isaac into his mouth. He likes sucking cock, and he likes that he's getting good at it, which he can tell he is by the way Isaac groans and twists his hands in Tyler's hair. He wants to get off too, but he's pretty into the way Isaac's so into it.

Isaac likes to move, twisting his hips and bringing his knees up to hold Tyler between them, then letting them drop back down to the bed. Tyler lets him do what he wants until it starts to get in the way of his blowjob, and then he holds Isaac's hips down and knees apart. It's easier for him, and Isaac seems to like it too.

Tyler stops thinking too much about what he's doing and just focuses on how it feels, Isaac's cock in his mouth, Isaac's skin under his hands, Isaac's hands in his hair. Isaac's polite enough to warn him when he's about to come. Tyler pulls off of his cock and jerks him off the rest of the way while rubbing his cheek against Isaac's thigh.

Isaac groans and pushes Tyler away from his skin. "Too much," he says.

Tyler moves up the bed to lie next to Isaac. "Good?" he asks. He doesn't bother to contain his smirk; he knows it was good.

"Good," Isaac says. "The beard was nice." He runs his eyes down Tyler's body, which makes Tyler realize he's still wearing everything but his shoes. "I think you get a reward."

Tyler stretches, making his shirt ride up to show some skin between the bottom of it and the waistband of his jeans. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Isaac pushes Tyler onto his back and leans over to kiss him. His hand lands on that strip of skin above Tyler's jeans, and then it creeps up, under his shirt and up his stomach. It stays there, rubbing circles into Tyler's skin while they make out.

Tyler can't stand just that for very long; he's hard, and he wants to get off. "What else do I get as a reward?" He stretches, and rolls his hips, trying to get Isaac's attention.

Isaac huffs out a laugh and gets Tyler's jeans open. He's still too slow getting his hand into them, and Tyler tries to move into his touch.

Isaac laughs a little more. "Hang on," he mutters against Tyler's mouth. He gets both his hands into Tyler's pants, and then he gets Tyler's cock out and puts one hand up Tyler's shirt again while he jerks Tyler off with the other hand.

They make out while Isaac gets him off, long kisses that melt into each other until Tyler makes them shorter because what Isaac is doing with his hands is making it hard to breathe.

It's not a blowjob, but it's good, and Isaac's careful when Tyler comes, so he doesn't get come all over his clothes, just Isaac's hand.

Isaac gets up to clean his hand off, and Tyler stays where he is, sprawled out on the bed. The ceiling is blank and empty, like Tyler's thoughts, and he stares at it until Isaac comes back and Tyler turns his attention to him.

"That was worth skipping dinner for," Isaac says.

"Yeah." Tyler smiles at him, and tugs him close so he can kiss him, lazy and slow in the aftermath of his orgasm.

Isaac makes out with him for a while. "Maybe we should skip dinner again sometime."

"Yeah," Tyler says. "Yeah, this was awesome."

Isaac sits up a little and looks him over. "Pretty awesome for me too. I've got you looking like that in my bed."

Tyler looks down at himself. His cock is still out, shirt up and pants down to reveal it, his hair is probably a mess, and he knows what his face looks like after really good sex.

"It's a good look," Isaac says. He leans down and kisses Tyler. "Better that I made you look like that."

Tyler pulls him down and kisses him instead of thinking too much about how he looks. Isaac liking it is good enough.

Eventually, Isaac gets his clothes off and they make out until Tyler falls asleep.

*

Tyler wakes up in the morning to the smell of coffee and bacon. He must make some noise as he sits up, because Isaac turns away from the stove to smile at him across the room. Tyler blinks himself all the way awake and waves at Isaac before stumbling his way into the bathroom. There's a toothbrush still in the package on the counter, so Tyler brushes his teeth while he's in there. The apartment is small enough that he doesn't have to go far once he leaves the bathroom to kiss Isaac.

Isaac kisses him back and then pushes him away. "You want to stay away from the stove if you're going to be naked." He runs his eyes down Tyler's body. "And you should stay naked."

Tyler blushes. "Can I get some coffee?"

"Yes." Isaac gets him a cup out of the cabinet, and Tyler pours himself some from the coffeemaker. Isaac watches him and says, "You should take that back to bed. I was going to bring you breakfast there."

It does nothing to cool the heat of Tyler's blush, but he takes his coffee back to bed. The place is small enough that he doesn't have to give up watching Isaac to do it. He grabs his phone on his way, and he checks his messages and email while he sips his coffee and watches the way Isaac's pajama pants outline the shape of his ass.

He puts the coffee and his phone down when Isaac brings him a plate. "Don't you have to go to work?"

Isaac settles in next to him. "Called in sick." He smirks at Tyler. "Told my boss I was just going to spend the day in bed."

Tyler laughs, but also looks at Isaac. "Yeah?"

"Mmhmm. Eat your breakfast before it gets cold." Isaac turns on the TV, and they watch _The Today Show_ while they eat. It's not very interesting, and pretty perky for first thing in the morning, but at least Tyler will be somewhat informed about the world.

Isaac takes Tyler's plate when he's done, and puts both plates down on the floor on the other side of the bed. Tyler meets Isaac's slow smile with one of his own, and he lets Isaac tug him down under him on the bed.

They just make out for a long time, even though it doesn't take long before they're both hard. Tyler wants more after a while, and he tugs at Isaac's shirt until Isaac sits up far enough to let him pull it all the way off. He goes for Isaac's pants next; no matter how good they look on him, he wants the touch of Isaac's skin instead.

Then it's just skin on skin, and they still make out without doing much else for a while. Isaac is the one to shift against Tyler, slotting their legs together so he can rub his cock against Tyler's hip.

It's good, except then Al Roker's voice breaks Tyler's concentration, and he says, "Wait, wait," and fumbles in the sheets until he finds where Isaac dropped the remote and turns off the TV.

Then it's good again, and Isaac keeps it slow enough that it takes a long time before they both come. Then he rolls to the side and grabs for a tissue to clean them both up.

"How does this measure up to your usual morning?" Isaac curls up next to Tyler and puts his head down on Tyler's chest.

"Pretty good," Tyler says. He runs his hand through Isaac's hair. It's nice, comfortable.

They're quiet for a bit, and then Isaac turns the TV back on, and they zone out watching morning shows and _CSI: Miami_ reruns. They exchange blowjobs later, and Isaac makes them sandwiches for lunch after that.

"I should probably go home," Tyler says after lunch. "Stuff I should do before practice tomorrow."

They're both still naked, and Isaac lies on the bed and watches Tyler get dressed. He gets up to walk Tyler the few feet to the door, and then he kisses him, a deep, thorough kiss with his hands in Tyler's hair, probably leaving it obvious what Tyler's been doing all day.

"Call me when you're free," Isaac says. "We'll skip dinner again."

"Yeah," Tyler says, "maybe next week."

"Can't wait," Isaac says, "although the memories from today will get me through."

Tyler grins at him and goes home. Marshall slobbers all over him when he gets in the door, and even Fred wanders out of wherever he was to see what has Marshall so excited.

"Wow," Fred says. "You got _laid_."

Tyler blushes, and flips Fred off.

Fred laughs. "Get it if you can. Still the guy you met at the bar?"

"Yeah," Tyler says. "Isaac."

"Oh, Isaac," Fred says, slightly mocking, but not mean. "He make you breakfast this morning?"

"Yes," Tyler admits.

Fred laughs again. "Really? Damn. You have a high class of hookups."

Tyler rolls his eyes. "We don't all hook up with people who can't wait to see us leave in the morning."

"Oh, fuck you," Fred says. "That was one time, and her roommate was coming home."

Tyler shrugs. "I wouldn't make you breakfast either, so."

"You're such a dick," Fred says, laughing again. "You make me breakfast all the time."

"Well, I'm going to stop." Tyler flashes Fred a grin, pats Marshall one last time, and goes to take a shower. Not that he minds smelling like sex and Isaac's bed that much, but he's starting to feel a little grimy.

"No you won't," Fred yells after him. "I'm too good a roommate for you to piss off."

*

"So what's this I hear about you staying over at some guy's place?" Brownie asks when they Skype.

Tyler groans. "Fucking Fred."

Brownie laughs. "Not that I want details, but."

Tyler shrugs. "It was fun. He made me breakfast."

"Well, yeah," Brownie says, "if you stayed over."

Tyler rolls his eyes. "Not everyone is as much of a gentleman as you are."

"This guy sounds like he might be. Tell me about him."

Tyler shrugs again. "He works for a consulting firm. He knows where to get really good cheesecake. He makes good eggs."

Brownie raises his eyebrows at Tyler. "That's it?"

"He's good in bed," Tyler tries. It doesn't make Brownie look at him any less skeptically. "We're having fun," Tyler says with a sigh, "and it's good, but probably not anything more than that."

"Hey," Brownie says, holding his hands up, "I'm not judging. Do whatever you want, man."

Maybe he's not judging, but Tyler kind of is. It's not really fair to Isaac to date if Tyler's probably not in it for anything more than just that.

"I guess I should tell him that it's just fun," Tyler says.

"Probably," Brownie says. "Maybe after playoffs, if getting laid is good for your game."

Tyler laughs. "I could probably get laid anyway."

Brownie rolls his eyes. "Did he pick you up at a gay bar in, like, five seconds?"

"No," Tyler says. "Fred didn't tell you how I met him?"

Brownie shakes his head. "Is it a good story?"

"Ciara found him," Tyler admits. He tells Brownie about it, even though he has to keep waiting for Brownie to stop laughing before he can keep going.

"Only you," Brownie says, "could get a guy because your ex-girlfriend picked him up for you."

"I don't know that's why she hit on his friend. She might have just liked him."

Brownie laughs. "It's Ciara. She totally picked up a guy for you."

She probably did, and it is kind of funny, but Tyler flips Brownie off anyway and asks him how Julie is to change the subject.

*

When they get knocked out of the playoffs, they lose in six, which means they're at home for the loss. It sucks, and it also means it's easy for them to go out and get shitfaced. Well, a bunch of them get shitfaced anyway. Tyler certainly does.

Fred's just a little more sober, and he gets them both into a cab and home for the night, but doesn't stop Tyler from dropping down to the floor to cuddle Marshall.

It means he wakes up hungover, unhappy, and stiff from sleeping on the floor. He drags himself off the floor and into a shower, shaves, and then puts on sunglasses and takes Marshall for a walk.

The sunshine is way too bright for his hangover, but he stops for coffee and doesn't get hassled much, and he's starting to feel more like he might live when he gets home.

There are a million texts on his phone, which he turned off sometime last night, and he sits down to be responsible and at least skim through them. Having everyone he knows tell him it sucks that they didn't win doesn't make him feel any better, and he doesn't respond to most of them.

There's one from Isaac, and Tyler hovers over it for a second before he opens it.

_Sorry about your game_ , it says. _Want to skip dinner sometime soon?_

He's going to have to end this thing with Isaac, but he doesn't have to do it yet, and he'll be leaving for Toronto soon enough, which will make it easier to stop seeing Isaac.

_Yes,_ he sends back. _Tomorrow?_

Isaac sends him a time, and Tyler texts back to agree to it.

Tyler stumbles through the rest of the day. Everyone he knows in Boston is probably just as hungover as he is, and no one but Marshall bothers him all day. He goes to bed early and wakes up feeling better. Physically, at least. It's going to take more than a day to feel better about being knocked out of the playoffs.

He's antsy all day, but he makes himself text people back, talk to his mom, and chill out until it's time to go over to Isaac's.

"Hi," Isaac says when he opens the door. "I'm sorry about the end of your season."

Tyler pushes him back and kicks the door shut behind him. "Let's not talk about that."

Isaac looks surprised at first, but he gets with the program pretty quickly, and Tyler keeps pushing until they're naked in bed.

Hooking up with Isaac does take his mind off of the loss, and Tyler's grateful for that when he lies next to Isaac afterward.

Isaac turns toward him and kisses him. "I can make you breakfast again," he says, "but I can't call in sick tomorrow."

"I shouldn't stay," Tyler says. "I have stuff to do tomorrow morning." It's a bit of a stretch - he could have breakfast with Isaac before he has to be at the rink for breakup day - but as good as it was for taking his mind off of things, he doesn't want to stay the night with Isaac.

They make out for a while longer anyway, before Tyler gets up and puts his clothes back on. It's kind of a dick move, but Tyler says, "I'll call you," and lets himself out.

At least Fred isn't home when Tyler gets back, so he doesn't have to listen to any chirping about his booty call.

*

Breakup day goes pretty much how Tyler expects it to. It's not really goodbye to any of the guys, because they all have plans for dinner. It's just goodbye to their season and the rink, which is bad enough even without having to answer questions about how they lost. Still, it's part of his job, and Tyler gets through it and goes home to take Marshall out to the park.

That does more to make him feel better than anything else has, and he's in a good mood when he gets home. Good enough that he rummages through their fridge and cooks himself a snack for the first time since playoffs started.

Dinner with the boys also makes him feel better, and they chirp each other about their summer plans.

"Let me guess," Marchy says, throwing an arm around Tyler's shoulders. "You're going to cut a wide swath through the gay men of Toronto."

Tyler shoves him off. "At least I'll get laid more than you."

There's a chorus of ohs, and Tyler grins at the rest of the table.

"God bless you," Bergy says, "living the single life for all of us."

Tyler feels a tiny twinge at that - he still has to dump Isaac somehow before he can party all summer - but he grins at the table and lets them think what they want about how much of a party his summer is going to be.

*

Tyler said he would call Isaac, and he probably shouldn't be the kind of guy who breaks up with someone, if you can really call it a breakup, via text - Isaac doesn't seem like the vindictive type, but marketing means he probably knows media people, or people who would gossip on Twitter, and that's the kind of thing Tyler doesn't need getting out - so he calls Isaac the afternoon before he's set to leave for Toronto.

"What are you thinking this time?" Isaac asks when he picks up. "Dinner or skip dinner?"

"Uh, actually," Tyler says, "I was calling to tell you I'm leaving tomorrow, headed up to Toronto for the summer."

There's a kind of long silence before Isaac says, flatly, "You're less of a role model than I thought you were."

Tyler winces. "Yeah," he says, "sorry."

"Let me guess," Isaac says, "you're not going to call me when you're back in town."

"No," Tyler says, "probably not."

"At least I got to bang a celebrity out of it," Isaac says, and then he hangs up.

After Tyler takes his phone away from his ear to check that, yes, Isaac really did just hang up on him, he finds Ciara's name and texts her, _Don't pick up guys for me._

She sends back, _What happened?_ with a row of question marks that he ignores in favor of taking Marshall for a walk.

*

Toronto doesn't just mean it's summer. It also means Tyler gets to start all over again. He doesn't have to hold on to his season (much; people will still talk to him about it, but more about next year) and he doesn't have to hold on to anything like what happened with Isaac, or any of the other guys he dated or hooked up with all year.

He takes it easy at first, too busy spending time with his family and friends to want to hook up anyway. He refuses Candace's offer to set him up with someone - again - and laughs when Jesse asks what he's going to do for a wingman since Brownie's only coming to Toronto to visit. It's not like Tyler needs help to get laid, and he's not looking to date. That hasn't worked out well for him so far, and it doesn't seem worth it to try in Toronto when he's only there a couple of months out of the year.

"Long distance relationships can work," Brownie says when Tyler tells him that over Skype. "Look at mine."

"Maybe if you find the love of your life," Tyler says with a sigh.

Brownie's face goes all gooey the way it does when he's being lovey dovey about Julie. "Don't give up, dude."

"I'm not giving up," Tyler says. "Just taking a break." He smirks. "And getting laid."

Brownie laughs. "That part you won't have any problem with."

*

Brownie's right about that. As easy as it was for Tyler to get laid last summer, it's even easier this summer. People in Toronto really do know who he is, especially now, and he barely has to walk into a gay bar before someone's offering to buy him a drink or asking him to dance.

He does his best to avoid the people who just want to say they hooked up with Tyler Seguin, but he ends up having a couple of uncomfortable conversations with Wally about his hookups talking about him on Twitter.

Other than that, he usually just picks the hottest guy who hits on him. He's living alone, so he can even take them back to his place if he wants. Not that he always wants to - it's still easier to go to someone else's place - but sometimes that's how it works out.

Tyler goes out one night, and brings home a guy he meets on the dance floor who mentions in passing that he goes to U of T. It makes him pause for a minute, and think back to last summer and Zack. It's not like he misses Zack, really, but they had a good time together.

Then he stops thinking about Zack in favor of watching the U of T guy suck his dick, and he forgets about it until sometime after he gets home from his workout the next day.

Zack's number is still in his phone, so Tyler pulls it up and texts him, _In Toronto for the summer. Want to hang out?_

He puts his phone down while he makes something to eat and gives Marshall a treat. There's a message waiting by the time he sits down with his food.

_I'm dating someone,_ Zack's text says. _But the three of us could have coffee or something._

Well, so much for the prospect of steady sex with someone he knows is fun and who knows what he likes in bed. But he did have fun with Zack, and Zack was really good with Marshall, so Tyler sends back, _Ice cream? I'll bring Marshall._

_Yes!_ Zack texts. _I'll text you a time._

It takes a while before he does that, but Tyler's phone says, _8 tonight, same place as last summer,_ when he wakes up after his nap.

Tyler texts back an agreement and takes Marshall out for a short walk. There's no need to tire him out now when they're just going to walk for ice cream later.

Tyler's not sure exactly what to expect when he and Marshall walk to the ice cream place after dinner. He hasn't really stayed in touch with any of the guys he's hooked up with, but he and Ciara are still friends, so maybe it'll be cool.

Zack isn't there yet, and there aren't any other guys there alone who could be Zack's boyfriend waiting for him, so Tyler sits down with Marshall at an empty table. Marshall flops onto the sidewalk and pants up at him.

"I know, buddy." Tyler bends down to pet him and gets him some water from the cart of doggie bowls and water pitchers.

Marshall puts his whole face into the water bowl. It's only a couple of minutes later that he gets up, wagging his tail, and tugs on his leash. Tyler looks up in the direction he's going, and there's Zack. He looks good in a dress shirt and jeans. He's holding hands with the guy who must be his boyfriend, but he lets go to pet Marshall.

Tyler has to wait until Zack is finished saying hi to Marshall to hug him.

"Hey," Tyler says.

"Hi." Zack holds him by the arms and looks at him. "You look good."

"Thanks," Tyler says. "You too." He really does. It's too bad Zack has a boyfriend, because Tyler would totally hook up with him if he didn't.

Zack reaches out and pulls the other guy forward. "This is Marcus. Marcus, Tyler."

Marcus is cute, in a nerdy kind of way. More like the hipsters Ference always finds than the kinds of guys Tyler usually picks up.

"Hi, Marcus," Tyler says with a smile. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Marcus says, and then he elbows Zack. "You didn't tell me Tyler your ex was _Tyler Seguin_."

Zack grins at both of them. "Nope." He hooks his arm through Marcus's and pulls him toward the shop.

Tyler ties Marshall up outside where he'll be able to see him from inside and goes in with them. Their conversation is all about ice cream for a couple of minutes, what's good, what flavors they all like and don't like, how Marshall gets treats but not ice cream. Tyler pays for all three of them, and gets a couple of doggie biscuits for Marshall.

Zack takes the chair closest to Marshall and ask, "Can I?" holding out his hand for the bag with the doggie biscuits.

Tyler hands the bag over. "Don't give him all of them."

Zack shoots him a look. "I know." He takes one out of the bag and bends over to offer it to Marshall, careful to keep his ice cream cone out of the way. "Good boy," he says when Marshall takes it neatly.

Tyler looks over at Marcus, who is watching the whole thing with a totally sappy look on his face. Well, at least if he can't hook up with Zack because he has a boyfriend, it's because he has a boyfriend who looks at him like that.

Zack sits back in his chair and pushes the bag of doggie biscuits back toward Tyler. He licks at his ice cream where it's starting to melt. It's still as sexy as it was last summer.

"I can't believe," Marcus says, "that you didn't tell me you dated _Tyler Seguin_."

"You don't have to say his name like that," Zack says. "It was just a couple of months last summer." He flashes a grin at Tyler. "Although I was his first Canadian boyfriend."

Tyler's not sure if he's supposed to laugh at that or not.

"You're on good terms with his dog," Marcus says, and that's the point where Tyler figures he can step in.

"He's a pretty friendly dog."

Marcus leans over where he can see Marshall. "Let me guess," he says, looking between Marshall and Zack, "you didn't even know who he was and you just liked his dog."

Zack and Tyler exchange a smile, and Zack says, "Yep."

The logical place for this conversation to go is to the rest of the story about Zack and Tyler dating. To head that off, Tyler says, "You were still in University last summer."

"Yeah," Zack says. "I graduated this year."

"Congratulations," Tyler says.

"Thanks." Zack flashes him a smile. "I'm not really done, though. I did this program working with kids this year, and loved it, so I'm doing another year to become a teacher."

"That's cool," Tyler says.

"It's more school," Zack says with a shrug, "but I think it'll be good in the end." He reaches over and takes Marcus's hand. "And I'm doing that at York, so I can be here with Marcus."

Tyler tries not to stare at them holding hands like he didn't get to do with Zack last summer. "What do you do?" he asks Marcus.

"IT," Marcus says. "Mostly tech support right now, but I'm hoping to move up into one of the sysadmin positions in the next couple of years."

Tyler only sort of knows what all that means, but he nods anyway.

"Not as exciting as what you do," Marcus says.

"I've never seen you this excited about anything sports related," Zack says.

"I am Canadian," Marcus says. "I might not follow hockey, but I know something about it, and it's a big deal that he's one of the first out players in the NHL." He nods at Tyler. "That was really great of you to do. I wish some of the guys I know who played hockey growing up had role models like you."

"It is pretty amazing," Zack says, smiling at Tyler. "I'm proud of you."

"Uh, thanks." Tyler figures neither of them are likely to go talking about him to the press or whatever, so he also says, "I mostly did it so I wouldn't have to worry about someone outing me." He can't help glancing at Zack and Marcus's hands.

"Probably easier for you to date now," Zack says, "not that you did that badly before."

"Yeah, kind of," Tyler says. "They don't have to not look like dates anyway."

"Hey," Zack says, "it wasn't that bad." He grins at Tyler. "I seem to remember some very seductive public ice cream eating."

It startles a choked laugh out of Marcus and a lighter one out of Tyler.

"Really?" Marcus says. He looks at Tyler. "Your ice cream eating doesn't seem very seductive now."

Tyler shrugs. "I'm not trying to seduce you."

"Trust me," Zack says, "if he were, you would know." He shares a smile with Tyler. Last summer, he would have gotten a smile that meant they were going straight home to fuck, but that's the thing about being friends with an ex. Now it's just friendly. Tyler doesn't try to make it any more than that either; he and Zack didn't work out, and he doesn't want to cause problems for Zack and Marcus.

"So since you can obviously date now," Zack asks, "are you seeing anyone?"

"Not right now," Tyler says. "There were a couple of guys during the season, but," he shrugs, "it didn't work out, so."

"You'll find someone," Zack says. "You're a good boyfriend."

"And hot as hell," Marcus adds. He grins at the look Zack throws him. "Not usually my type, but someone's."

Tyler has to laugh at that. "Thanks," he says. "I think."

"Just wait," Zack says. "Someday it'll be us and you and your boyfriend having ice cream. And this guy." He bends over to rub behind Marshall's ears, and Marcus gives him that sappy look again.

It's pretty easy, after that, to talk about stuff that isn't Tyler's dating prospects. Zack asks about his family, and Tyler asks Zack what he's doing during the summer, and it's fun, like maybe they really can be friends.

Zack and Marcus both hug him when they leave.

"This was fun," Zack says. "We should hang out again while you're here."

Tyler looks at Marcus, who seems cool with that. "Yeah," Tyler says. "That would be fun."

Zack takes longer to say goodbye to Marshall. Marcus shakes his head and laughs. "He's such a sucker for a cute dog."

*

"It sounds like you had fun," Brownie says when Tyler tells him about it.

"I did," Tyler says. "It's kind of weird because we hooked up all last summer, but it was cool."

"He's not the first person you've hooked up with that you hung out with later."

Tyler shrugs. "Yeah, but it was never weird with Ciara."

Brownie starts to laugh. "Maybe that should have been a clue."

Tyler makes a face at him. "Fuck off. I just thought I wasn't that into her."

Brownie doesn't stop laughing at him. "You weren't, because she's a girl."

Tyler has to crack a smile at that. "Yeah, yeah, I'm dumb, I know."

"Not totally dumb," Brownie says, "just a little clueless."

"You're such a dick."

"I guess I should be glad you like dick," Brownie says, totally serious and straight-faced.

Tyler almost falls off the couch laughing.

*

Tyler walks Marshall over to have ice cream with Zack and Marcus a couple more times, and spends most of his time training, hanging out, and hooking up when he feels like going out. It seems like summer's barely started before he's headed back to Boston for training camp.

It's good to see the rest of the boys. He kept up with most of them over the summer, but texting and the occasional email isn't the same as being in the room or out on the ice with them.

It's good to be home in Boston too, near the friends he's made over the last couple of years, in a city that loves him the way Boston does, and at home in the house with Fred and Marshall.

They have a party once Tyler's mostly settled in, a bunch of friends from around Boston, some of their friends, a couple of the boys. The house slowly fills up with people and conversation, booze and laughter.

Even though Tyler wakes up hungover to a house full of empty cans, bottles, and plastic cups, it makes it feel even more like he's home for the season.

*

_You, me, party with Wentworth guys tonight,_ Fred texts on a Friday afternoon.

_You don't even go there anymore,_ Tyler texts back.

_My friends still do. Don't make other plans._

_Can't stay too late,_ Tyler sends. _Skate tomorrow morning._

_Buzzkill._

The party is at a large apartment close to Wentworth's campus. It's already in full swing when they get there, and because it's Fred's crowd, his presence gets more of a reaction than Tyler's does. Still, Tyler's partied with a bunch of these guys over the last couple of years, so there are people he knows and can talk to. Not that he's ever had a hard time making friends at a party before.

It's at a break in the music when Tyler hears someone say, "No way, it's awesome. Like, there are these girls with secrets, and people are always dying, and there's the mysterious Red Coat, who might actually be more than one person."

Tyler drifts in that direction, because that's a conversation he can join.

"I'm telling you," the voice says, "it's crazy. Way more than _Gossip Girl_ ever was." The guy who's talking is sitting on a couch, telling this to a couple of girls who don't necessarily look like they believe him. The girls are, whatever, girls, but the guy's cute. He has dark hair and an expressive face, and while he's not that built, he has the kind of look where he could be a runner or something like that.

"No way," one of the girls says. " _Gossip Girl_ was the shit."

"Hey," the guy says, holding up his hands, "I loved that show too, but _Pretty Little Liars_ turns the crazy up to, like, a thousand. Plus, it's still on the air and _Gossip Girl_ is over."

The coffee table in front of the couch looks sturdy enough, so Tyler sits down on it and says, " _Pretty Little Liars_ is way better than _Gossip Girl_."

The guy grins at him, and the girl who defended _Gossip Girl_ gives him a look like she doesn't think he knows what he's talking about.

"Whatever," the other girl says. She grabs her friends hand. "I am not drunk enough for this debate."

"Uh, sorry," Tyler says to the guy when they leave. "I didn't mean to scare them away."

The guy waves his hand. "No worries." He grins. "If they don't understand the greatness of _Pretty Little Liars_ I don't think I could be friends with them anyway."

Tyler laughs and moves from the coffee table to the free space on the couch. "I tried to get my best friend to watch it. He didn't understand, but we're still friends."

The guy shrugs. "You do what you gotta do, I guess."

Tyler laughs again. "He's great otherwise, so it didn't seem fair to ditch him just for that."

The guy grins at him. "You ever get him to watch anything else?"

"Nothing as good as _Pretty Little Liars_ ," Tyler says. "I did get him to watch _90210_ for a while."

"Man," the guy says, "that show. Have you ever seen the original one?"

Tyler says no, and the guy spends a couple of minutes telling him how it compares to the new one.

"What you should really watch," the guy eventually says, "is _The O.C._ "

"Yeah?" Tyler asks.

"Oh my God," the guy says. "It's so good. Not as much, like, guys taking their shirts off for no reason as a lot of the newer shows," the guy slides a look at Tyler that Tyler tries to answer with a subtle indication of his own interest in guys taking their shirts off, "but it's a really good story, good characters."

Tyler can't help but smile in the face of the guy's enthusiasm. "I'll have to check it out."

The guy flashes him a grin, says, "You won't regret it," and then cranes his neck in response to someone shouting across the room.

"Nathan," someone shouts again. "We need your expertise."

Nathan laughs, and says, "Sorry, I guess they need me," to Tyler.

"Wait." Tyler touches Nathan's wrist before he can stand. "Can I get your number so I can text you or something when I watch _The O.C._?"

"Yeah, definitely." Nathan smiles. "If you give me yours too, I can let you know if I run into anything else you should watch."

They swap phones to enter their numbers, and Nathan looks down at his when he takes it back. "Tyler," he says. "I hope you like _The O.C._ "

"Nathan!" The shout from across the room is more insistent this time.

Nathan gives Tyler a little wave and heads in the direction of the shouting. Tyler tucks his phone into his pocket and gets up to find someone else to talk to.

*

Tyler goes out with a few of the boys for lunch after skate, and then he goes home and takes a nap, but after that he looks up _The O.C._ and downloads the first season to his laptop and his iPad so he can watch it on the road trip they're leaving on tonight.

He plays cards with the boys on the plane, but a four-day road trip leaves him plenty of time on his own. He watches the first two episodes of _The O.C._ lying on his hotel room bed with his laptop sitting on his chest. It's pretty good - he likes the story so far, and the Ryan guy is pretty hot - and he only stops where he is because it's getting late and he needs to go to bed soon.

It's kind of late to text someone he doesn't know that well by the time he's done, so he waits until he gets out of skate in the morning to text Nathan.

_Watched the first two episodes,_ he sends. _Love it so far._

Nathan sends back a row of smiley faces and, _Keep watching. It gets even better._

Tyler does, watching episodes in hotel rooms on the road and on the couch with Marshall next to him at home. He texts Nathan about them, and sometimes about other stuff.

_What the hell is your schedule?_ Nathan asks after Tyler texts him while he's having breakfast in Vancouver.

Tyler chuckles and texts back, _Weird. I play for the Bruins._

It takes a couple of minutes for Nathan to get back to him after that, and the delay makes Tyler worry that something about that is going to make Nathan stop texting him. He doesn't want that; he likes Nathan, and he thinks maybe this could be something more than just texting.

_I had to google that,_ Nathan eventually sends, and Tyler breathes a sigh of relief that it didn't spell the end of whatever he might have with Nathan. _Makes sense you can marathon a TV show. I was worried you were blowing off homework for it._

_No,_ Tyler sends back. _Watching in my free time._

_Good,_ Nathan sends. _I didn't want to be responsible for you failing out._

Tyler laughs a little at that, and gets elbowed by Ference.

"Who are you texting?"

That makes Marchy and Looch look up from their breakfasts too.

"Nobody," Tyler says, stuffing his phone into his pocket.

"You wouldn't look goofy like that for nobody," Marchy says.

"If you don't tell us," Looch says, "we'll just take your phone later and find out ourselves."

They'll do it too; Tyler's teammates are the worst friends. "His name's Nathan, and we're just texting."

"Nathan," Marchy says, making it sound as sleazy as possible. "Did you pick him up in a bar?"

"No," Tyler says.

"Where did you meet him?" Ference asks.

There's probably no way Tyler can get out of talking about it now, so he says, "At a party."

"Come on," Looch says, "you gotta give us more than that."

"I met him at a party," Tyler says. "We've been texting. There isn't any more." There kind of is, but there's no way he's telling them he's been texting Nathan about _The O.C._ , or that they met because Nathan was talking about _Pretty Little Liars_.

"What kind of texting?" Marchy asks.

Tyler can feel himself turning red, which means they don't believe him at all when he says, "Just, like, normal texting kind of stuff."

"If that's the kind of thing you consider normal," Marchy says, "I hope you never send me normal texts."

Looch and Ference laugh along with Marchy, and keep laughing even when Tyler flips them off.

*

Most of the time Tyler watches episodes in his hotel room or at home, but a couple of times when no one's up for cards, he watches them on the plane. He only has two episodes of season three left when they're on a long flight to Phoenix, so even though he also wants to try to nap a little, he fires that up when the boys he's sitting with drop out of their card game.

He's enjoying the show, so it's cool, until he gets to the end of the last episode. It looks, for a moment, like things will be okay. They usually are, when Ryan's carrying Marissa somewhere. But this time things aren't okay.

Tyler lets out a shocked noise when Marissa dies. Marissa _dies_.

"What?" Marchy asks, leaning over into Tyler's space.

Tyler brushes him away and watches until the episode fades into the credits. He kind of has to breathe for a bit and blink a lot to keep from crying. He doesn't need the chirping that would come with that.

When he's pretty sure he's not going to cry his eyes out, Tyler fumbles for his phone. There's wifi on the plane, so he can still send a message to Nathan.

_You didn't tell me Marissa dies,_ he sends with a string of crying sad faces.

_Sorry,_ Nathan sends back with a couple of regular sad faces. _Didn't want to spoil you._

_How can Marissa die?_ Tyler sends. _She's one of the main characters!_

_I know,_ Nathan sends. _The next season is still good, even without her._

Tyler sends a row of sad faces and then, _Don't think I can watch it now. Too sad._

Nathan sends him some more sad faces. _Sorry. Want to hang out to try to forget about it?_

Tyler's heart leaps, and then falls. He totally wants to take this somewhere other than their texting conversations, and he can't right now. _Wish I could,_ he tells Nathan, _but I'm on a plane to Phoenix._

_When you get back,_ Nathan says. _I'll try to make it better._ And there's no way that isn't an offer for a date.

Tyler sends him a row of smiley faces.

*

There is no reason for Tyler to be this nervous about picking Nathan up. He's been on plenty of dates before. He's even been on dates in Boston since he's been out. There's nothing to be that nervous about.

Still, he has to wipe his suddenly sweaty hands on his jeans before he knocks on Nathan's door.

Nathan answers the door and smiles at him. "Hi."

"Hi." Tyler doesn't know exactly what to do now. He wants to touch Nathan, but he doesn't know if they're there yet.

Nathan solves it for him by going in for a quick hug.

Tyler hugs back and catches a brief glance of a living room with a couple of guys playing video games on the couch before Nathan steps outside and closes the door behind him.

"Roommates," Nathan says with a shrug.

"Cool," Tyler says, and then he leads Nathan down the stairs and out to his car.

Nathan whistles. "Nice."

"Thanks." Tyler pats the roof of the car. "It's my baby."

"I can see that." Nathan gets into the car and rubs his hands over the seats. "Very nice."

Tyler flashes him a smile. "I made reservations downtown if that's cool."

Nathan raises his eyebrows at him. "Sure, but I already know you cried when Marissa died, so it's too late to prove how cool you are."

Tyler can feel himself blush at that.

Nathan laughs a little. "Nah, it's cool. I bawled my eyes out the first time I watched that."

"I can't believe you didn't _tell_ me. I was on a plane. With, like, my whole team."

Nathan laughs a little harder. "Oh, man, I'm sorry about that. I promise there's nothing else like that coming."

"There better not be," Tyler says. "I haven't been able to watch season four yet."

Nathan reaches across the car and squeezes Tyler's shoulder. "I really didn't mean for it to break your heart like that." He lets go. "Should we talk about something happier now?"

"Yeah," Tyler says. He glances over at Nathan. "You won't go out with me again if I spend our whole first date depressed."

"I might," Nathan says.

There's nothing Tyler could do about the smile spreading across his face even if he wanted to. Definitely a date, and definitely not the only one, as long as neither of them screw it up.

"You go to Wentworth, right?" Tyler asks. "What's your major?"

"I'm in the master's program," Nathan says. "Architecture."

"Wow," Tyler says. "So you want to, like, design buildings?"

"Yeah," Nathan says. "I always liked buildings and designing things. My parents have a million pictures of the Lego buildings I would make when I was a kid. I used to make a lot of models of houses, but I think I want to do more commercial buildings. Public buildings, like libraries and city halls and stuff, are really cool, but those are harder jobs to get."

"I don't know anything about architecture," Tyler admits. "I don't think about buildings a lot."

"You might not think about it," Nathan says, "but the architecture around you can influence how you feel and how you experience the space. Have you ever been in a building that was really uncomfortable or really great for seemingly no reason?"

Tyler thinks about that. There were places when he was looking for somewhere to live, in Toronto and in Boston, that he just didn't like, and there wasn't any furniture in them so it couldn't have been the decorating. "Yeah, I guess so."

"That's the architecture," Nathan says. "Thats what I want to do." He pauses. "Not the making people uncomfortable part, but the rest of it. Designing buildings that make people feel good and look cool."

Tyler grins at him. "Yeah, I figured. You don't seem like you'd want to intentionally torture people."

Nathan laughs. "No. Only good stuff."

Tyler parks, and there's a break in the conversation while they go into the restaurant and get their table. They talk about the menu for a few minutes, and order their food and a bottle of wine to go with it.

After the waiter leaves, Tyler asks, "So do you have a favorite building or whatever?"

Nathan grins at him. "I have a couple, and a wish list of buildings I want to go see sometime."

That seems kind of strange to Tyler, but he guesses it makes sense if Nathan's into buildings. "Like what?"

"The Oslo Opera House is at the top of my wish list right now."

"Oslo? Like, in Europe?"

"Yeah." Nathan pulls out his phone. "It's so cool. It has this roof that angles down to the water, but you can also walk on it and so it's become this public space that people totally use." He hands his phone over.

Tyler looks down at the picture Nathan pulled up. The center part of the building is all glass, with white stone or something angling up and down around it. It does come right down to the water, the white corners of the building sharp in the darker water.

"It looks cool." Tyler hands Nathan's phone back.

"We studied it in one of my classes," Nathan says. "It's an opera house, but it's not exclusively that. It has this whole element of accessibility to the public, and they planned it that way." He flushes a little. "Anyway, I want to go someday. The same firm designed the World Trade Center Memorial Pavilion and redesigned Times Square, and those are going to be easier to see."

Tyler smiles at him. "It's cool that you're excited about it, and New York's an easy train ride."

Nathan smiles back. "Yeah, I might try to go on a day off during the semester, but," he shrugs, "my program's pretty intense, and I don't know if I'll have time."

"My roommate went to Wentworth," Tyler says, "but only undergrad. Is grad school way more intense?"

" _Yes_ ," Nathan says. "Architecture undergrad wasn't exactly a cakewalk, but this is super intense. It takes up a lot of time, and even when I'm not doing schoolwork, I'm still thinking about design a lot of the time."

"But you love it," Tyler says. "Like, with hockey, it's a lot of work, but I love it so I don't mind putting in the work."

Nathan's smile is bright and obviously pleased. "Yes," he says, "exactly."

Tyler would do a lot to get Nathan to look at him like that again, so he asks about his classes and follows along as best he can.

"You should come to the studio sometime," Nathan says at the end of one of his descriptions of his program, "see all the models and the drawings."

"I'd like that," Tyler says. "And you can come watch me play a game."

Nathan laughs. "I won't know what's happening, but I'll cheer for you."

Nathan is easy to talk to, engaged even in Tyler's stories about people he doesn't know, and he chimes in with his own stories about his program and friends from undergrad. They linger for a while, finishing off the bottle of wine, but they eventually leave the restaurant, stepping out into a night that's grown significantly chillier.

Tyler looks up at the sky, what he can see of it beyond the lights of the city. It's dark above the lights, not reflecting back like it would be if it were cloudy.

"Let's take a walk," he says.

Nathan gives him a look like he just suggested they jump in the harbor. "It's freezing."

"It's not that bad," Tyler says. "And I know a place with really good hot chocolate. It's not far."

"It better be the best hot chocolate in the world," Nathan says.

Tyler laughs and starts walking. "If it's not, it's close to it."

They get a block down the street, and then Nathan says, "All right, it's not that bad out."

Tyler jostles him with his shoulder. "I told you." They're already walking close, they're on a date, and it doesn't matter if anyone sees them, so after a second of thinking about it, Tyler takes Nathan's hand.

Nathan throws him a surprised look, but then he nudges his arm against Tyler's and curls his fingers a little tighter around Tyler's.

Tyler's never really gotten to do this before, wander down the streets of Boston holding hands with a guy he's on a date with. A guy he really likes. It's pretty great, and he almost doesn't want to stop them when they get to the bar.

"A bar?" Nathan asks, looking up at the sign.

"They make the best hot chocolate." Tyler lets go of Nathan's hand so he can hold the door for him instead.

Nathan gives him a look, but goes in, sighing as the warmth of the place washes over them.

It's classier than it looks from the outside, quiet and full of small tables and comfortable booths. Tyler takes Nathan to a small, empty booth along the wall, seat curving around the curve of the table. They scoot in toward each other, leaving their coats on the outside, and Tyler plucks the menu from the center of the table and puts it in front of Nathan. "Hot chocolate," he says, pointing to it.

Nathan skims the menu, a whole page of hot drinks, and flips it over to glance at the drink specials on the other side.

One of the waitresses, a smiling blonde with a notepad already in her hands, comes over to them. "What can I get you?"

Tyler gives her a wide smile. "Hot chocolate."

"Two," Nathan says, putting the menu back. "I've been told it's very good."

The waitress laughs. "It is. Whipped cream on those?"

They both say yes, and she walks away, leaving them alone.

Nathan rubs his hands together. Tyler doesn't quite dare take them and rub them between his own, but he does ask, "Warming up?"

"Yeah. I grew up with cold winters, you'd think I'd be used to it by now."

"Oh yeah? Where?"

"Corinth," Nathan says. "Tiny town in New York. Like, the big city is Glens Falls and no one's ever heard of that either."

Tyler stares at him. "I've heard of Glens Falls. My best friend plays hockey there, for the Phantoms."

"Huh," Nathan says. "Kind of weird, but I'm guessing you're the kind of guy who knows people everywhere."

"A lot of places, yeah," Tyler admits. He knows a lot of people.

"Boys in every port?" Nathan asks lightly.

"No," Tyler says, too fast. "Not like that. Friends, but not like that." He's saved by the waitress bringing their hot chocolate, tall glass mugs topped with whipped cream.

"Anything else I can get you boys?"

"No," Tyler says, flashing her a smile. "We're good."

She leaves, and Nathan pulls one of the mugs toward himself. "This is not what I was expecting. This is like a bucket of hot chocolate."

Tyler laughs. "It's part of what makes it good." He watches Nathan drink from his mug, a blissful look spreading across his face, and then lick whipped cream off his upper lip.

"I think you were right," Nathan says. "This is the best hot chocolate I've ever had."

Tyler sips his chocolate. It is good, but he barely tastes it, needs it to do something about his suddenly dry mouth instead. "I told you."

"Well, I believe you now." Nathan drinks more of his, getting whipped cream on his lip again. The way he licks it off is very distracting, and Tyler loses track of the conversation. It wasn't that important anyway.

Nathan knocks his knee into Tyler's and leaves it there. "You're staring."

Tyler's cheeks heat and looks down into his mug, where the whipped cream is melting into the chocolate around the edges. "Sorry."

"Nah, I don't mind," Nathan says. He nudges Tyler's knee with his own. "Just not quite used to that kind of attention. Not like you must be."

Tyler shrugs and looks over at Nathan. He doesn't try to be subtle about it, just lets his eyes sweep from the top of Nathan's head to his mouth to his shoulders. 

"I don't know why not. You're worth looking at."

Nathan smiles, and there's a slight flush to his cheeks. "Maybe you're just the first person to notice."

"Lucky me," Tyler says.

They move closer while they sit there and chat, so by the time Tyler's tipping back his mug for the last mouthful of chocolate, their shoulders and thighs are touching. Tyler doesn't really want to stop, but after they sit there for a few more minutes, he says, "I guess we should go."

"I guess." Nathan doesn't look like he's that much more enthusiastic about leaving, but they pull apart and put their coats on.

The temperature dropped while they were inside, and Nathan shivers when they get outside.

"It's not that far to the car," Tyler says.

"Good." Nathan puts his arm through Tyler's and tucks himself close to Tyler's side. It's even better than holding hands was earlier. They walk a couple of blocks like that, and then Tyler pulls his arm out of Nathan's and puts it around his shoulders instead.

Nathan smiles sideways at him and puts his arm around Tyler's waist. It's pretty much the perfect date.

"I'll walk you up," Tyler says when he parks in front of Nathan's apartment building.

"Very gentlemanly," Nathan says, but he doesn't tell Tyler not to, so Tyler goes with him up the stairs to his door.

They stand in front of Nathan's door just looking at each other for a really long moment.

"I had a good time," Nathan says.

"Me too," Tyler says. "You want to do this again sometime?"

"Yes," Nathan says, "definitely."

That makes it easy for Tyler to smile and step forward. Nathan takes a little step toward him too, and Tyler bends down the few inches he needs to so he can kiss Nathan. It's a short kiss, but it's still good.

Nathan brushes his fingers over Tyler's cheek. "Thanks for dinner and the best hot chocolate I've ever had."

"You're welcome." Tyler lets go of Nathan reluctantly. "I'll call you." He doesn't leave until Nathan goes inside and closes the door behind him.

Marshall comes running when Tyler gets home. Tyler bends down to pet him, and follows him back to the living room where Fred's slouched on the couch with an Xbox controller in his hands.

"Hey," Fred says, and then he looks up from the screen and pauses the game while he stares at Tyler. "You got laid."

"Nope," Tyler says. He unwinds his scarf and drapes it over the back of a chair, his coat going with it. He should probably put them away, but it can wait until tomorrow.

"Sure," Fred says.

Tyler shrugs. "It was a good date." He's still smiling, because it was a great date and he's probably not going to stop smiling until he falls asleep, if then. "I'm going to bed. Marshall, are you coming with me?"

Marshall cocks his head at Tyler, and then goes over to nudge at Fred's knees until Fred starts petting him.

"My dog likes you better," Tyler complains without heat. He leaves Marshall with Fred and goes to his room. He smiles all through getting ready for bed, and even through checking his messages before he goes to sleep. He has half a dozen texts from the last fifteen minutes, all asking about his date. He promises Brownie to Skype about it later, sends Fred, _Stop telling everyone my business_ , and ignores the rest of them. The texts don't even keep him from smiling his way into sleep.

*

Tyler's still smiling when he gets to the rink in the morning for practice. He doesn't know why he's getting so many looks; he smiles all the time.

No one says anything to him about it until Marchy gets there, and then there's a lot of unsubtle nudging Tyler totally notices and Marchy comes to stand in front of him with raised eyebrows.

"What?" Tyler asks.

"You know what," Marchy says. "What's making you smile like that? Or is the question _who's_ making you smile like that?"

Tyler throws a convenient roll of tape at him. He knows better than to throw any of his own gear.

Marchy grabs the tape out of the air and smirks like he thinks he knows something. "Was it Nathan?"

Tyler's blush totally gives him away.

"You finally hit that?" Marchy asks.

"No." Tyler snags the tape back since he actually does need it. "It was just a date."

"Couldn't seal the deal?"

Tyler's saved by Looch smacking Marchy across the back of the head. "Just because you live with someone you banged before you knew her name doesn't mean that's how it works for all of us." Looch nods at Tyler. "Good date, huh?"

Tyler's smile spreads across his face again. "Yep."

"Going on another one?" Ference asks.

"Yep." Tyler stops looking at them to smile down at his stick as he tapes it carefully.

*

The chirping he gets from Brownie over Skype is gentler if no less pointed. Tyler ends up laughing and blushing about it.

"You're really, whatever, about this guy."

"'Whatever'?" Tyler says.

"You know." Brownie waves a hand. "Twitterpated or whatever."

That sets Tyler off into laughter again. "Twitterpated? Are we in a cartoon now?"

Brownie chuckles with him. "Come on, you know what I mean. You like him."

"Yeah," Tyler says. "I really, really do."

"Enough to write him letters every day for a year?"

Tyler sobers, and nods slowly. "Yeah," he says. "Yeah, I think so." He bites his lip. "Is it too early for that?"

Brownie shrugs. "I don't know, man. You're the one who's dating him. Is it too early for you to know that?"

"I haven't really felt like this about any of the other guys I dated," Tyler admits.

"There you go," Brownie says. "You might want to wait to tell him that, though. Don't want to freak him out after just one date."

Tyler makes a face at him. "Thank you so much, relationship guru."

Brownie holds up his hands. "Just trying to help you out. I want him to stick around long enough that I can meet him."

"Yeah," Tyler says. "That's what I'm hoping for."

They talk for a little bit longer, and then Tyler closes Skype and opens iTunes. He pulls up the next unwatched episode of _The O.C._ and sends a text to Nathan before he hits play: _Starting season four._

Nathan sends back a smiley face with, _Over your trauma?_

_IDK,_ Tyler sends, _but I'm trying it anyway._

Nathan sends him a thumbs-up.

Tyler grins at it and puts his phone down while he watches.

*

Tyler's at his mom's in Toronto for dinner the night before a game when Nathan texts him. They're still just hanging out, not actually sitting down to eat yet, so Tyler unlocks his phone to see what it says.

_My turn to plan a date. Are you free sometime this week?_

Tyler grins down at his phone and thinks about what his schedule looks like. _Thursday work?_

_Yes,_ Nathan sends. _I'm warning you now it's going to be a grad student style date. Pizza and hanging out._

Tyler sends, _I like pizza and hanging out,_ with a smiley face. Then he has to hold his phone up high to get it out of the way when Cassidy goes for it.

"Who are you texting?" She jumps to try to grab for it, but she's still enough of a shorty that Tyler evades her easily.

"No one you know."

"I don't care if I know them," Cassidy says. She grabs at his arm and picks her feet up to hang off of it. She's too heavy for it, but Tyler just switches his phone to his other hand before he lets his arm drop. "I want to know who it is!"

"Nope." Tyler has a lot of practice in keeping things away from Cassidy without hurting her, and like usual, it ends with her on the floor laughing even as she tries to get away from him.

"Mom! Make him tell me!"

"Cassidy, stop using your brother as a jungle gym. Tyler, let your sister up."

Tyler does, making sure his phone is locked before he puts it in his pocket, just in case she tries to steal it again.

"If it's serious with whoever you're texting," Mom says, "I still expect to meet him."

Tyler's blush totally gives that away.

Cassidy pokes him in the side. "You're texting a boy, and you didn't tell me?"

"Stop that." Tyler twists away from her and grabs her hand to keep from poking him again.

"Did you tell Candace?"

Tyler sighs and puts his arm around Cassidy. "No. If I tell her about it, I'll tell you too. Promise."

"You'd better." Cassidy leans against him.

"See how much nicer it is when you're getting along?" Mom says.

Tyler and Cassidy grin at each other, and then Cassidy shrieks with laughter when Tyler picks her up like he's going to hold her upside down.

*

Tyler knocks on Nathan's door right on time, and Nathan smiles when he opens it.

"Hi." Nathan leans in and kisses Tyler's cheek. "Come on in. My roommates are supposed to be out all evening, but," he shrugs, "you know how that goes."

"Yeah." Tyler kicks off his shoes and looks around the apartment. He didn't really get to see it when he picked Nathan up last time. It's nothing particularly special, mostly looks like the other college student apartments he's been in.

"So," Nathan says, "I thought we could make our own pizzas. I bought crust and toppings and stuff."

"Cool," Tyler says. He follows Nathan into the kitchen. It's a pretty small kitchen, small enough that they have to stand close while they spread sauce and cheese, pepperoni and vegetables on the crust.

"One of my roommates is into making pizza," Nathan says, "so we have a pizza stone. It means we'll have to cook them one at a time."

"That's cool." Tyler bumps his shoulder against Nathan's. "We can share both of them."

Nathan smiles at him, brightly enough that Tyler has to lean in and kiss him to see what it tastes like.

Nathan's still smiling when he pulls away, but it's gentler, and he puts one of the pizzas in the oven, sets a timer, and comes back to kiss Tyler again.

"Hey," Tyler says after a couple of minutes of careful making out, "I like your style of date."

"Good." Nathan leans on the counter next to Tyler.

Tyler kind of wants to keep making out, but there's food and whatever other kind of hanging out Nathan has in mind, and he doesn't want to move too fast and risk jeopardizing his chances for more of a relationship with Nathan.

"I liked your style of date too," Nathan says.

Tyler smiles at him, and they just stand there smiling at each other for a minute before Tyler thinks to ask Nathan how school's going. They talk about that for a couple of minutes, and Nathan asks about his season, and then the timer goes off and Nathan takes the first pizza out of the oven and puts the second one in.

Nathan slices the pizza with a couple of easy strokes of the pizza cutter, and he gives Tyler a plate to get his first.

"You want a beer with that?" Nathan asks.

"Yeah, sure."

Nathan gets two bottles out of the fridge and gives one to Tyler. He gets some pizza, and they sit down on stools at the counter to eat.

They're quiet for a couple of minutes while they dive into the pizza - it is really good, especially with cold beer to wash it down with - before they start talking again. The conversation is easy. They stick to light topics, and Nathan makes Tyler laugh more than once.

When the timer goes off for the second pizza, Nathan slices it and puts a couple of slices onto Tyler's plate without him even having to ask for it.

"Thanks," Tyler says.

Nathan shrugs. "I was up, and I do know a little something about how much athletes eat."

"Yeah?" Tyler blows on a piece of pizza, trying to make it cool down enough to bite into.

"My first roommate in undergrad was friends with a bunch of football players." One side of Nathan's mouth tugs up into a smile. "I got used to it." His smile gets broader, with a hint of flirtation in it. "I never dated any of them, though."

Tyler smiles back at him. "So I'm your first athlete?"

"Mmmhmm." Nathan reaches over and rubs his hand up and down Tyler's arm. "I like it so far."

Tyler blushes a little, and Nathan stops touching him to eat more pizza.

There isn't a lot of pizza left when they're done. Nathan puts the last couple of slices into the fridge and gets them each another beer.

"Can I see some of your work? Like building designs or whatever?" Tyler asks.

Nathan smiles at him, like he's done something right, and leaves him in the kitchen while he goes to get whatever it is he's going to show Tyler. He comes back with a roll of paper and his laptop.

"This is what plans look like when they're done." Nathan nudges their beers out of the way and unrolls the paper onto the counter.

Tyler leans over the counter, shoulder to shoulder with Nathan, and watches as Nathan touches the lines of the drawing while he explains it.

Nathan quirks a smile at him after a couple of minutes and says, "I'm probably boring you now." Tyler tries to protest - he likes seeing Nathan excited about his work - but Nathan rolls up the paper and opens his laptop. "This is more interesting. These are renderings of what the buildings would look like when they're done." He opens up a program on his laptop and pulls up a drawing of a building. He has a whole bunch of drawings, of the outside and inside of the building, and he explains them to Tyler as he goes through them.

"Wow," Tyler says. He's more impressed the farther they get in Nathan's virtual walkthrough of a building he designed. "This is really amazing. I can't even imagine designing something like this."

Nathan smiles and looks down at his laptop. "I guess I can't imagine doing what you do either," he says after a moment. Then he turns his smile on Tyler. "Okay, enough boring you with this."

"It's not boring," Tyler protests, but Nathan waves him off.

"I know it's not exactly your thing, and if you hang around me long enough, you'll hear plenty about it."

Tyler definitely plans to be around long enough for that, so he lets Nathan close up his laptop and put it and his drawing in his room.

Nathan comes back and takes a long drink from his beer. Tyler doesn't bother to hide the way he's watching Nathan's lips on the bottle and Nathan's throat moving. Nathan doesn't seem to mind.

"How do you feel about dancing?"

It's not what Tyler was expecting Nathan to ask. "I love dancing," he says after a second.

"Great." Nathan grins at him. "Let's see how you stack up against _Just Dance 2014_. I have to tell you, I do a mean Nicki Minaj."

Tyler laughs and follows him into the living room. Nathan has played enough to have the Nicki Minaj dance moves totally down, but Tyler has his own moves, and he doesn't do too badly.

They're laughing their way through "Candy," trying to get their movements coordinated right, when the front door opens and a couple of guys come in. It breaks their rhythm, and it takes them a couple of seconds to get back into it.

Nathan groans when their score flashes on the screen. "We were better than that!"

"Sorry, man," one of the guys says.

Nathan shrugs. "Shit happens. This is Tyler. Tyler, roommates, Cody and Drew."

Tyler shakes hands with them, and Cody says, "Sorry," again.

"It's cool," Tyler says. "I should probably get home anyway. I have practice tomorrow."

"I'll walk you out," Nathan says.

"It was nice to meet you," Tyler says to Cody and Drew, and then he pulls on his coat and holds the door open for Nathan.

They walk down to Tyler's car. It's too cold to linger for long, but Tyler doesn't want to leave just yet.

"I had a good time," he says.

"Me too." Nathan grins at him. "We'll have to go try out our moves at a club sometime."

Tyler can feel his grin stretching across his face. "Yeah," he says. "We should." He steps closer and puts his arms around Nathan so it's easier to kiss him.

They stand there for a little while, trading slow, soft kisses that heat Tyler up enough not to notice the cold until Nathan shivers.

Tyler lets go of Nathan reluctantly. "You should go inside."

Nathan nods, and steps back. "Call me."

"I will." Tyler ducks in and kisses him one more time before he gets in his car. He starts to notice the cold on the way home, once the heat starts to kick in and he can tell the difference.

*

Tyler smiles for a couple of days. He texts Nathan a lot and puts up with the chirping from his team and the Boston crew. He takes a moment to call Nathan from a hotel room in Buffalo.

"Hi," Nathan says. "I have class in, like, fifteen minutes, but I can talk for ten."

They talk for a couple of minutes, Tyler about his road trip, and Nathan about his classes. It's nice, and Tyler's starting to really understand why the family guys are always making time to call home.

"How about a date?" Tyler asks when their time starts to run out. "Tuesday?"

"Tuesday's not really a club day of the week," Nathan says.

"No," Tyler says. "We'll have to do that another night. I was thinking dinner and a movie."

"Going with the classics," Nathan says. "Sounds good."

"I'll pick you up," Tyler says.

"I'm looking forward to it," Nathan says, his voice warm and sincere. "I have to go to class, but I'll text you later."

Tyler says goodbye and hangs up, and then spends a minute wondering if it's creepy to jerk off to thoughts of a guy he hasn't slept with yet but wants to when the guy maybe doesn't know how much Tyler wants him. Then he decides he doesn't care that much and does it anyway.

*

They go casual for dinner on Tuesday, Nathan giving Tyler directions to an Indian place he swears is amazing. It is good, although being there with Nathan makes it even better than it would be otherwise.

Tyler drives them to the theater after dinner, and they stand there looking at the board for a couple of minutes before they decide on something that's supposed to be a romantic drama. Tyler buys their tickets, and they find seats in a mostly empty row, empty enough that there's no one on either side of them.

The movie is good, and even better because Tyler can hold Nathan's hand, and Nathan squeezes his hand and leans against him at the sad parts.

"We should have brought Kleenex," Nathan says when it's over.

Tyler laughs a little; it's good to know he wasn't the only one wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "Not as traumatizing as Marissa dying."

Nathan outright laughs at that. "I'm still sorry about that."

Tyler bumps against his shoulder. "I forgive you."

Nathan smiles brightly at him, and holds his hand until they get stopped by someone in the lobby who wants Tyler's autograph. Tyler shrugs an apology at Nathan, who just steps back and lets him talk to the fan for a minute.

They hold hands again in the parking lot, Nathan's fingers warm against his in the cold night air.

Tyler turns the heat on full blast when he starts the car, so it'll warm up as fast as possible, and then looks over at Nathan. He doesn't want the evening to end, and he really wants to do more than just kiss Nathan. They've been texting for a while, but this is only their third date, and Tyler doesn't have enough experience dating guys to know how things are supposed to work. "Is it too soon to ask if you want to come back to my place?"

"If you don't," Nathan says, "I will."

Tyler leans across the console to kiss him. "Want to come back to my place?"

"Yes."

Tyler smiles all the way home, even more when Nathan reaches across the car and puts his hand on Tyler's thigh.

"Nice," Nathan says when Tyler pulls up in front of the house.

"It's better inside," Tyler says, which is mostly a line, but it makes Nathan grin at him and get out of the car.

Marshall comes running as soon as Tyler unlocks the door, and Tyler crouches down to rub behind his ears. "Hey, buddy. Hi, did you miss me?"

Marshall licks him, and then pushes past him and noses at Nathan's knees.

"This is Marshall," Tyler says.

"Hi, Marshall." Nathan holds out his hand, palm up, so Marshall can smell him. When Marshall signals his approval, Nathan crouches down and lets Marshall push at him and nose at his shoulder. Nathan laughs and holds Marshall back, scratches the top of his head. "You're just a big puppy, aren't you?"

"He thinks he is."

Nathan grins at Tyler over Marshall's head. "And I bet you let him get away with it."

"Not all the time."

Nathan laughs. "But enough." He pats Marshall and stands up. "Is he well behaved enough to stay out of the way when he needs to?"

Tyler's breath catches in his throat. "Yeah," he says. "Marshall, lie down."

Marshall goes to his doggie bed in the corner, and Tyler and Nathan stand up. Nathan takes Tyler's hand and pulls him close to kiss him for just a moment.

Tyler leans his forehead against Nathan's and just breathes him in for a second after that. "My room's this way."

Nathan kisses the corner of his mouth. "You should definitely show me your room."

If Fred's home, he's in his room, and Marshall's being good, so there aren't any distractions when Tyler walks Nathan up the stairs and down the hallway to his room.

"This is it." It's clean enough, both because leaving too much stuff out with Marshall around is asking for trouble and because Tyler picked up a little earlier just in case.

Nathan looks around for a second. "Nice." Then he steps into Tyler's space and runs his hands up Tyler's chest. "Nice," he says again.

Tyler smiles and bends to kiss him. It's good, and this time they're in a warm bedroom, no coats in the way, no reason to stop anytime soon. They keep kissing for long minutes, and then Tyler takes half a step backwards, and another and another, pulling Nathan along with him until the back of his knees hit the bed.

Tyler sits down, pulling Nathan with him. It's like Nathan knows just what to do; he plants his knees on either side of Tyler's hips and lowers down into his lap. Tyler puts his hands on Nathan's shoulder blades and pulls him in so they're chest to chest. They're almost the same height like this, and it's easy to press his mouth to Nathan's, to kiss him slow and lazy, trading control back and forth.

Tyler's starting to get hard, and having Nathan moving on his lap a little as they kiss is just making him harder.

He moves his hands down, to the hem of Nathan's shirt, and pulls it up slowly, so Nathan can stop him if he doesn't want that.

Nathan doesn't stop him. Nathan lifts his arms up over his head so Tyler can pull his shirt all the way off. He's lean and there's probably some muscle under there, but his chest is smooth and just a little soft.

Tyler runs his hand down Nathan's chest from his throat to the top of his jeans. He dips his head and kisses the point of Nathan's collarbone.

Nathan sucks in a breath. "You too," he says, and he tugs at Tyler's sweater.

Tyler leans back a little and pulls off his sweater in one easy movement.

Nathan makes a noise that's something like an approving hum, and he puts his hands on Tyler's chest. "I knew you were built," he says, "but I didn't know-" He trails off and touches Tyler instead of talking, hands roaming across Tyler's chest, fingertips catching on his nipples before he runs his hands down to Tyler's abs. "You could be on a CW show."

Tyler laughs and pulls Nathan in to kiss him.

"No, really," Nathan says, laughing with him. "I'd watch you take off your shirt for an hour every week."

"I'll take my shirt off for you anytime you want," Tyler says.

Nathan hums and curves his hand around Tyler's waist. "I'll take that deal." Then he stops talking and they're kissing again, wet and deep and bare chests pressed together.

Tyler trails his fingers over Nathan's skin while they make out, and after a while, he runs them down to Nathan's jeans and skims along them from Nathan's back to his front. "Can I?" he asks.

"Yeah," Nathan says, "yes."

Tyler pops the button on Nathan's jeans and draws down the zipper, letting his hand brush against Nathan's already hard cock as he does. Nathan sucks in a breath, and then he stands up. As much as Tyler doesn't want to stop touching him, it's worth it when Nathan pushes his jeans down and steps out of them.

Tyler stands up too, and they're so close the back of his hands brush against Nathan's stomach when he unbuttons his jeans. He glances at Nathan's face, to make sure he's watching while Tyler pulls his zipper down.

"You wouldn't get this from a CW show."

Nathan's eyes jerk up to meet Tyler's, and he laughs and leans in to kiss Tyler. "I wouldn't get the full 3-D experience either."

"Nope," Tyler says. "I'm definitely better than a CW show."

Nathan laughs again and pushes closer to Tyler, so close their chests press together and Tyler can feel Nathan's cock hard against him. "Way better." Nathan dips his head and runs his tongue over Tyler's collarbone. It's a lot hotter than Tyler would have guessed that could be.

Tyler doesn't want him to stop, but he steps back a little, and pulls Nathan down onto the bed with him. They settle in on their sides next to each other, and Tyler pulls Nathan close enough to kiss him some more.

They don't do anything but make out for a long time, but Tyler isn't in any hurry to do anything else. It feels good, and he likes getting to just touch Nathan in ways he hasn't gotten to yet.

After a while, Tyler rolls onto his back and pulls Nathan on top of him.

"Mmm," Nathan says, "hi."

Tyler smiles at him. "Hi." He runs his hands up and down Nathan's back. "I really like you."

Nathan grins. "Yeah, I guessed. The being mostly naked in your bed clued me in."

Tyler nips at Nathan's bottom lip, then turns it into a real kiss. "Want to be all the way naked in my bed?"

"Yeah," Nathan says. "I could hang with that." He dips his head and kisses Tyler. "As long as you're all the way naked too."

"Yeah," Tyler says. "For sure."

The bad thing about it is that they have to pull apart to get all the way naked, but it doesn't take long, and once Nathan's naked, Tyler gets to look at him again, gets to see his cock hard and curving up toward his stomach.

"Come here." Tyler holds out his hands, and Nathan comes to him easily. Tyler pulls him back down onto the bed, tugging Nathan on top of him again. He can feel both their cocks hard between them, and he can't help moving his hips a little to rub against Nathan.

Nathan says, "Mmm," and dips his head to kiss Tyler. They make out again for a while, both of them moving just a little bit, rubbing against each other in tiny little movements.

Nathan tips to the side after a while, pulling Tyler with him so they're facing each other again. Before Tyler can kiss him, Nathan wraps his hand around both their cocks and strokes them together.

Tyler gasps, and Nathan smiles at him, a tiny, soft curve of his lips. Then Tyler really does have to kiss him, surging into it and catching Nathan's mouth fast and messy. The kissing is really good, but he pulls away after a minute so he can watch Nathan jerking them off with slow, even strokes of his hand.

"Tell me," Nathan says, and he's breathless too, "do you like it?"

"Yes," Tyler says. "Fuck, yes."

"Good." Nathan leans forward and kisses him, and then he stops kissing him and speeds up his hand, and they both look down to watch. It looks almost as good as it feels, and it feels fantastic. It's been a little while since someone else touched Tyler, and it's never been Nathan who he likes so much that it really means something to him to have Nathan be the one touching him.

Nathan comes first, spilling across both their stomachs and their cocks. He groans when he does, and it's a noise Tyler wants to hear him make over and over again.

Nathan switches up his grip after a little bit, letting go of his own cock and using his come to jerk Tyler off. It's super hot, the way it feels, the way it looks with come all over Tyler's hard cock and Nathan's softening one. 

There's no way Tyler's going to last long, and he doesn't try to, lets himself come with a gasp when Nathan's fingers catch at all the sensitive spots around the head of his cock.

Nathan lets go of his cock after Tyler finishes coming, and rests his hand on Tyler's stomach while he kisses him.

"That was so hot," Nathan murmurs.

"Yeah," Tyler says. He kisses Nathan again, doesn't want to stop kissing him.

"Wait, wait," Nathan says after a couple of minutes. "We should get cleaned up so I can touch you without getting come everywhere."

Tyler reaches across him for tissues from the nightstand, and they clean up the worst of the mess. Nathan's hand is dry when it slides around Tyler's back to hold him close while they make out again. Their making out slows down after a while, until they're just exchanging lazy kisses and mostly breathing into each other's mouths.

"I can drive you back if you want," Tyler says. "Or you could stay." He says it pretty casually, but his heart is beating hard. He really wants Nathan to stay.

"Yeah? I don't have class until ten tomorrow."

"I can totally take you back before then." Tyler touches Nathan's cheek. "Stay?"

Nathan kisses him softly. "Yes."

Tyler smiles at him, too happy not to. "Cool," he says. "Cool." He leans in to kiss Nathan again, deeper this time, and he pulls Nathan close.

There's a smile tugging at the corners of Nathan's mouth when he asks, "Are you a cuddler?"

"Uh, yeah," Tyler says. He pulls back a little. "Is that cool?"

"Yeah," Nathan says. "It's good. Come here." He pulls Tyler even closer, and moves them around a little bit until they're tangled together. "Marshall isn't going to be upset I'm taking his place, is he?"

Tyler laughs. "No. He'll sleep in the living room, or with Fred."

"Good," Nathan says. "He's a sweet puppy, but I don't want to share you right now."

Tyler says, "Oh," and kisses Nathan because there isn't any other way for him to express how that makes him feel.

*

Tyler wakes up early, way before his alarm in the morning. It's kind of nice to wake up like that, just drifting out of sleep instead of being jolted out by the blaring of his phone. It's even nicer because he's not alone. They moved apart a little in the night, but he and Nathan are still mostly tangled together.

Tyler opens his eyes so he can look at Nathan. His face is soft and slack in sleep, mouth open just a little. Tyler untangles one arm so he can brush his fingers over Nathan's cheek.

Nathan murmurs a little, and turns into the touch, then blinks his eyes open.

"Sorry," Tyler murmurs. "Didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's okay." Nathan smiles at him, hazy and soft. "Morning."

"Good morning." Tyler presses his lips to Nathan's cheekbone. "Do you want breakfast?"

"Mmm, yeah," Nathan says. He stretches a little, his body sliding against Tyler's as he does. "Maybe a shower first."

"Okay."

"How big is your shower? Can we share?"

"I think we can make it work," Tyler says.

They do, sort of. There isn't really enough space for both of them, but it doesn't matter. It's probably more fun this way, the two of them bumping into each other, touching the whole time, out of necessity as much as desire. They both end up laughing, and they make out under the water running over them. Their skin slides together, wet and slick, and Tyler stops laughing to kiss Nathan, holding his face between his hands. Nathan stops laughing too, and his hands slide up and down Tyler's back, then twist into his hair.

The only reason to share a shower is to get off in it, so Tyler takes one of his hands off of Nathan's face and slides it down his side, so different when his skin is wet, and wraps it around Nathan's cock.

Nathan sighs, "Yeah," into his mouth, and Tyler jerks him off, watching Nathan's cock slide through his fingers, water still falling on them.

Nathan's hips jerk forward when he comes. The water washes them both clean, and Nathan presses his lips against Tyler's jaw, keeps them there for a moment before he jerks Tyler off. The noise Tyler makes when he comes echoes off the shower walls, ringing in his ears for a minute before he comes down enough to kiss Nathan.

"You promised me breakfast," Nathan says when he breaks the kiss.

"I did." Tyler reaches past him to turn off the water, and they separate as they get out of the shower. Tyler hands Nathan a towel, and they dry themselves off separately.

Tyler has to put his hands back on Nathan after they're dry, though, sliding them over Nathan's hips and dipping to kiss him.

Nathan pushes him away lightly. "Food." He's smiling as he says it, so Tyler doesn't take it as a rejection.

Tyler pulls on some clothes, and Nathan puts on his clothes from last night. His shirt's a little wrinkled from being on the floor overnight; Tyler offers to let him borrow a shirt even though he likes seeing it. Nathan turns him down anyway, pulling his shirt as straight as he can and following Tyler to the kitchen.

Marshall bounds up to them once they get downstairs, and they both crouch down to scratch behind his ears.

Fred's already up, sitting at the counter with his phone and a cup of coffee. "I took him out," he says before he looks up. His eyebrows go up at Nathan standing behind Tyler.

"My roommate Fred," Tyler says to Nathan. "Nathan." He gestures at Nathan.

"Hey, man," Fred says, and Tyler leaves him and Nathan to shake hands and whatever while he opens the fridge to see what there is for breakfast.

"You eat yet?" Tyler asks Fred.

"No, are you cooking?"

They still have eggs and milk, so Tyler says, "Yes," and gets out a pan. He makes enough eggs and toast for three and protein shakes for two, since Nathan turns that part of it down.

They eat at the counter, Tyler hooking his ankle around Nathan's, and Fred rolling his eyes at him from the other side of Nathan.

"What are you even doing up this early?" Fred asks.

"Went to bed early," Tyler says, not looking at Fred so he doesn't have to see what kind of look he gives Tyler for blushing. "What are you doing up this early?"

Fred shrugs. "My roommate was making too much noise, so I got up and took the dog for a walk."

Tyler blushes even harder.

"I'd say I'm sorry," Nathan says, "but I'm not."

Fred laughs and pats Nathan's shoulder. "Nice," he says. "Own it."

Fred and Nathan get to know each other a little while they eat, with Tyler mostly just listening to them.

Fred gets up first, dumping his plates in the sink and bending down to scratch behind Marshall's ears. "I have to get to work. Nice to meet you, Nathan."

"You too," Nathan says. "I'll see you around."

Fred shoots a smirk at Tyler. "I'm sure."

Nathan laughs and ducks in to kiss Tyler's cheek. Tyler smiles at him, kind of stupid with how much he likes this, and they smile at each other for a couple of long moments before they finish their breakfasts.

Tyler lets Marshall have a tiny bite of bacon and puts all of their dishes in the dishwasher. "I guess I should drive you home," he says.

"Yeah," Nathan says, "but come here first." He's still sitting on one of the stools at the counter, and he turns toward Tyler so Tyler can step right up to him, between his legs. Nathan kisses him, slow and thorough. "I'm really glad you asked me to come back to your place."

Tyler smiles, so close to Nathan that he's pretty much pressing that smile against Nathan's mouth. "I'm really glad you told those girls at that party how great _Pretty Little Liars_ is."

Nathan laughs. "That is how this started, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm glad I told them that too." Nathan hugs Tyler closer for a moment, then lets go and pats his hip. "Come on, hot guy with good taste in teen shows, take me home so I can get ready for class."

Marshall follows them to the door and whines, so Tyler lets him come along, settled into the back seat.

It's a good thing they were up so early, because they make out in the car in front of Nathan's building for long enough that Marshall gets bored and starts barking at them. They pull apart with a laugh.

"Okay, I'm going," Nathan says. He kisses Tyler one more time anyway before he opens the door. "I'll text you."

Tyler waves at him and watches until he's in the building before he starts the car. He drives home with Marshall poking his nose up into the front seat even though he knows he's not supposed to, and as long as they're out, he takes Marshall for a walk around the block when they get home. He checks his messages while Marshall runs around sniffing everything in sight. His most recent text is from Nathan.

_Best date so far. We should repeat that one._

Tyler grins and sends back, _Agreed._

He's still mostly grinning by the time he gets to the rink for practice, which doesn't go unnoticed.

"You are way too fucking cheerful this morning," Marchy grumbles at him. "You get laid or something?"

Tyler grins harder, but doesn't answer him directly. That also doesn't go unnoticed.

"Shit," Marchy says after a second, "you got laid. Was it Nathan?" He drags out all the vowels in Nathan's name.

"I don't kiss and tell," Tyler says.

"That's a fucking lie," Marchy says. "Did he at least make you breakfast this morning?"

"I made him breakfast," Tyler says.

Half the locker room has been listening to them, and Ference comes over to throw an arm around Tyler's shoulders. "I just want to put this out there now. I know I'm probably not in the running to be your best man, but I'm willing to get ordained by the internet so I can perform the ceremony when you get married."

Tyler laughs and leans into Ference's touch for a moment before he shoves him off. "No one's getting married."

"Yet," Ference says. "We've all seen the way you look at your phone when he texts you."

Tyler rolls his eyes, but can't actually deny it. He ignores most of the rest of the chirping and gets ready for practice. There's more chirping during practice, but all of it friendly, and he's still in a great mood when he's done for the day.

When he checks his messages after he gets home, he has a text from Brownie that says, _Skype sesh?_

Tyler takes Marshall out before he opens up his laptop and gets on Skype.

"Damn," Brownie says with a low whistle when it connects. "Fred texted me this morning about you looking all happy making breakfast for Nathan, but you're still happy."

There's no denying it, and no reason to, so Tyler just says, "Yep."

Brownie waits for a second, like he was expecting more, then says, "Huh. You'd still write him letters every day?"

Tyler doesn't even hesitate to say, " _Yes_. I don't care if it's too soon or whatever. He's just." Tyler shrugs. "I like him that much."

"And the sex was good," Brownie says, like he's guessing.

"It was so good," Tyler says. "And we didn't even do that much, like-"

Brownie groans. "I love you, but please do not tell me the details of your sex life."

"Then who am I supposed to tell?" Tyler asks, only half serious. "This is part of what you signed up for by being my bff."

Brownie sighs, and then says, "All right. I guess you've heard about my sex life enough. Lay it on me."

"We just jerked each other off," Tyler says, "and it was still really good. And he stayed over, and we made out a lot when I took him home after breakfast."

Brownie makes a face at the details, sparse as they are, but he's smiling by the time Tyler's finished talking. "Simple sex and making out," he says. "That's your kind of guy."

Tyler ignores the chirping tone to it. "And he was good with Marshall. He even asked if Marshall would be upset about him taking his place in bed."

Brownie laughs at him then. "Hey, if he's willing to go clubbing with you, he sounds like the perfect guy for you."

Tyler bites his lip.

"No shit, really?"

Tyler shrugs. "We haven't gone yet, but we talked about it."

"Damn," Brownie says. "He really might be perfect."

Tyler beams at him, because he thinks so too.

*

_We never got to try out our dance moves at a club,_ Nathan texts Tyler a couple of days later. _Do you have a clubbing kind of night free?_

Tyler looks at his schedule and texts back, _Could go after the game on Friday, but it'll be late and probably get stuck with some of my teammates._

_Late just means the party will already be going,_ Nathan sends. And then, _I don't have any problem meeting your teammates._

Tyler doesn't mention the plan to anyone, but he was right about not getting out of the rink alone.

"Uh-uh," Marchy says, looping an arm around Tyler's neck. "Where do you think you're sneaking off to?"

There's too much attention on them to keep it from turning into a thing, but Nathan said that was cool, so Tyler says, "Clubbing with Nathan."

"Oh, I'm in," Marchy says with a wide, obnoxious grin. "I want to meet this guy."

"Shit," Looch says. "I have to get home."

"We'll tell you all about it," Marchy says. "Anyone else in?"

They assemble a small group, Ference, Krejci, Quaider, and Dougie all joining them, and they head out in a couple of cars.

_Bunch of guys coming with me,_ Tyler texts Nathan before he starts his car.

Nathan sends back, _Cool,_ and, _I'm already here, at the front bar._

Tyler has to wait for all of them to gather together on the sidewalk before they can go in and he can look for Nathan. The place is crowded, but Tyler slips through the crowd to the bar, and Nathan spots him before he gets there, his face lighting up in a smile that makes Tyler feel just as good as their win did.

Nathan pushes away from the bar and puts his arms around Tyler when they get close enough for that. "Hi." He kisses Tyler.

"Hi," Tyler murmurs after they stop kissing. He steps back a little, keeping one arm around Nathan. "Uh, these are my teammates." They make introductions as best they can over the music, and everyone shakes hands and smiles, and then Marchy pushes up to the bar and orders a round of shots while they find a table.

They all do their shots, Tyler unable to keep himself from looking at Nathan's throat when he tips his head back. That's another of those things that doesn't go unnoticed, and there's a round of laughs from the guys, and a quirked smile from Nathan.

"It's nice to meet you," Nathan says to everyone else after a couple more minutes of hanging out, "but I'm going to steal Tyler now. We have dance moves to show off."

Tyler stands up when Nathan takes his hand, and ignores the guys when they make comments behind them. He doesn't care what they say, and he knows they aren't being mean.

Nathan takes him far enough into the crowd on the dance floor that Tyler doesn't have to think about his teammates watching them and can just dance with Nathan. They do even better on the dance floor than they did with _Just Dance_. They don't have to think about it, and they can just move against each other. It only takes them a minute to figure out how to best fit together, and then it's all heat and movement and Nathan's body against Tyler's.

It's a pretty energetic crowd, but they're not the only couple on the dance floor, and the attention they get for how closely they're pressed together is mostly admiring. Tyler gets kind of into that. He's always liked people watching him, likes it even more now that he's showing off himself and Nathan, showing off not just how hot they are but that no one else gets to grind up on either of them until they're sweaty and breathless.

Tyler's half hard the whole time they're on the dance floor, and he can feel that Nathan's hard too. They've been dancing for a while, long enough that Tyler's starting to get thirsty, when Nathan kisses him. Tyler loses track of the music, and they stop dancing to just make out in the middle of the crowd. They get a couple of catcalls from people around them, but that just makes Tyler smile into Nathan's mouth and kiss him harder.

Nathan pulls away, and his voice is breathless when he says, "Do we have to say goodbye to your teammates or can we get out of here?"

Tyler shakes his head. "Let's go."

They hold hands as they work their way through the crowd to coat check and then to the door. It's chilly outside, and they walk quickly to Tyler's car.

"Your place or mine?" Tyler asks.

"Yours, if that's okay," Nathan says. "Roommates."

"For sure," Tyler says. His place is closer anyway.

He keeps glancing over while he drives, and Nathan is just watching him the whole time. It's intense, like dancing was.

It's a shorter drive than it would be to Nathan's, but it's still too long, and Tyler gets his hands on Nathan even before they get into the house, putting his hands on Nathan's hips and kissing his neck while they walk up to the door.

Nathan leans into it, then pushes him away. "Inside," he says. "It's too cold out here and I want to get you naked."

That sounds good to Tyler, so he unlocks the door and pushes Nathan into the house. Nathan grins at him and strips out of his coat, hanging it neatly on a hook just as Marshall comes to see them.

"Hi, buddy." Tyler bends over to pet him, because it's Marshall and he doesn't think Nathan will resent the interruption.

Nathan crouches down next to them. "Hi," he says to Marshall, who transfers his attention to Nathan and tries to lick his face. Nathan laughs. "Yeah, hi, Marshall. You be good now, and let me go take your daddy to his room, okay?"

Everything about that makes Tyler go hot, the way Nathan is with Marshall and the definite promise in what he's saying.

Tyler holds out his hand to pull Nathan up, and he sends Marshall to lie down before he takes Nathan to his room. If Fred's there, they don't see him, and Tyler doesn't care if he is as long as he's not getting in the way.

Nathan presses close once Tyler gets the door closed, and then they're kissing and Nathan is tugging at Tyler's shirt. "Yeah," Nathan says, "come on, get naked."

Tyler doesn't want to stop touching him, but touching him naked is going to be even better. His hands still on the button of his jeans while he watches Nathan pull his jeans off. Nathan's cock is already hard, pushing at the fabric of his underwear.

Tyler's mouth waters. "I really want to suck you off."

Nathan swears. "Yes," he says, "fuck yes."

Tyler forgets about getting his jeans off and goes to his knees instead. He mouths at Nathan's cock. This close, he can smell Nathan, sweat and cock, and even through the cloth he can taste it too.

Nathan runs his hands through Tyler's hair. "Fuck," he says. "Do you know what you look like like that?" Then he laughs a little. "Of course you do."

None of it is anything that means Tyler has to stop, so he just traces the shape of Nathan's cock with his tongue.

"Oh, fuck," Nathan breathes out. Then he pulls Tyler's head away. "No, wait," he says. He lets go of Tyler, and Tyler can see where his hands are going, so he helps Nathan pull his underwear down over his cock and all the way down so he can step out of it.

Tyler goes back to doing the same thing he was before, mouthing at Nathan's cock and tracing it with his tongue. He got to know it pretty well with his hands last time, but now he's getting to know it with his mouth. He listens to Nathan while he does it, figuring out which places are the best ones to run his tongue over. Nathan's pretty vocal, in a way that is totally gratifying, and that's even on top of how much Tyler likes getting his mouth on Nathan for its own sake.

Nathan's hands are in Tyler's hair again, not pulling or anything, but undeniably there, and they slide down so they're cupping his skull when Tyler takes his cock into his mouth.

Tyler looks up, wanting to see what Nathan looks like while he's doing this. Nathan's looking right back at him, and when Tyler meets his eyes, he moves his hands enough to stroke Tyler's cheek.

"Fuck, you're beautiful," Nathan says. He looks completely sincere, and there's a warmth on his face that Tyler's pretty sure is more than just simple affection for the guy sucking his cock.

Tyler has to close his eyes for a moment, swallows around Nathan's cock when he does, and feels more prepared to see that on Nathan's face when he opens them again. It's a good thing - he wants Nathan to look at him like that - but it's also intense.

Tyler moves his tongue around Nathan's cock, wanting to make it even better for Nathan. He probably can't tell Nathan just how much he likes him yet, but he can do his best to give him a really great blowjob.

It goes on for kind of a long time, not that Tyler really minds. He likes being able to do this for Nathan, and he likes the way Nathan's cock feels in his mouth.

Nathan gasps out a warning, hands loosening their touch on Tyler, when he's about to come. Tyler doesn't let him pull away, keeps sucking him until Nathan comes, and then swallows.

"Fuck, Tyler," Nathan says. He carefully pulls his cock out from between Tyler's lips and slumps down to kneel in front of him. "That was amazing." He leans forward and kisses Tyler, obviously not caring that Tyler's mouth tastes like come.

Tyler smiles into the kiss, pressing closer to Nathan, wanting to touch him, and wanting to get off. He's so hard, still in his jeans with just the button undone.

Nathan mouths at his jaw when Tyler rubs against him. "Yeah," he says, "I'm going to take care of you." He pushes Tyler backwards, careful but insistent, until Tyler's lying on his back on the floor with Nathan over him.

"Nathan," Tyler says, his voice rough because he's so turned on and because he just sucked Nathan off. "Please."

Nathan ducks in and kisses him while his hands tug at the zipper of Tyler's jeans. He gets Tyler's cock out, and then he stops kissing him, which feels like a loss until he licks Tyler's cock instead.

Tyler moans, and he keeps moaning while Nathan mouths at him for a couple of seconds and then takes his cock all the way in. His clearly isn't the first cock Nathan's sucked. He's good at it, and Tyler would be super into it even if he weren't already totally ready to come.

He warns Nathan when he's about to come, or he thinks he does anyway, and Nathan sucks him all the way through it, both hands on Tyler's hips to keep him from choking him.

"Fuck," Tyler says when he's done coming and Nathan is licking the last of the come off his cock. He drapes one arm over his eyes, but has to move it so he can look at Nathan instead.

Nathan smiles down at him, smug and a little amused. "You know, your bed is right over there."

Tyler turns his head. It isn't that far away, and maybe if he thought he could move, getting in it would be a good idea.

Nathan chuckles at him. "Come on. It's right there, and then we can be comfortable and cuddle."

Tyler groans at the thought of moving, but cuddling with Nathan is enough motivation that he lets Nathan haul him off the floor. He kicks off his pants while he takes the few steps to the bed, and all but collapses onto the sheets.

Nathan laughs at him. "See? Better, right?"

Tyler turns his face out of the pillow. "Only if you get over here."

He gets to watch Nathan's smile for a minute before Nathan turns out the light and gets into bed with him. He doesn't even have to do anything to get Nathan to cuddle with him; Nathan just scoots right over and drapes himself half over Tyler.

Nathan presses a kiss behind Tyler's ear. "That wasn't even my best work," he says. "I can't wait to see what happens when I put some effort into blowing you."

Tyler shivers at the promise in his voice and barely keeps in a whine. "It wasn't just the blowjob," he says. "We were dancing first."

Nathan's lips brush down his neck. "Whatever you need to tell yourself. Next time, it'll be just the blowjob and we'll see how you do."

Tyler thinks about protesting, but it's not like there's a real reason to convince Nathan otherwise. "You can blow me anytime you want."

Nathan laughs. "How very giving of you."

"I'm a generous guy."

Nathan laughs again, softer, and he finds Tyler's mouth in the dark.

*

Tyler wakes up in the morning in a panic until he finds his phone and checks the time. It's a little late, but he still has plenty of time to eat, take Nathan home, and make it to practice. Nathan's still asleep, Tyler's scramble out of bed to get his phone out of his pants not enough to wake him up. Tyler has a little time, so he climbs back into bed and checks his messages with Nathan a warm weight against his side.

He has a series of texts from the boys that make him realize that he probably should have let them know that he and Nathan had left the club last night. He settles for sending a group text that says, _That was my date you invited yourselves along to. Serves you right._

Tyler hates to leave his bed, especially with Nathan in it, but he gets up after he gets through his messages and goes to take a shower. Usually he wouldn't bother if he's just going to practice, but he still smells like sweat and sex from last night. He doesn't wake Nathan up until after he takes Marshall out and makes breakfast.

Nathan mumbles into the pillow, then stretches and smiles at Tyler. "Breakfast in bed."

"Yep. I could've just let you sleep."

"No," Nathan says, sitting up and accepting a plate. "I'm glad you woke me up."

"I have practice," Tyler says. "I can drop you off, or you can keep sleeping here if you want."

"I should go home," Nathan says. "Get some stuff done today so we can go out tonight. You're here for a couple more days, right?"

"Yeah," Tyler says. He didn't tell Nathan that, so he has to have looked up the schedule.

"Good." Nathan leans over and kisses his jaw. "I'm going to see how you do with a real blowjob before you leave again."

Tyler blushes so much his cheeks feel like they'll never cool down.

They finish their breakfasts, and Nathan pulls on his clothes from last night, runs his hands through his hair. It does nothing to disguise the fact that he hasn't been home, but Tyler likes the way he looks, all rumpled proof of what they've been doing.

Tyler pulls over in front of Nathan's place and leans across the car to kiss him. He gets caught up in it, wanting to just kiss Nathan forever.

Nathan is the one who has to stop them, pushing Tyler back gently. "You have to get to practice. I'll see you tonight."

"That's a lot of hours," Tyler says, half teasing and half serious.

Nathan's eyes crinkle up with his smile, and he leans over to kiss Tyler again. "Okay," he says, "I'm going. It's only a few hours." He gets out of the car, and Tyler watches him walk up to the door before he pulls away and heads for practice.

He's greeted, when he gets there, by a bunch of catcalls.

"I hope you got laid," Marchy yells across the room, "since you ditched us."

Tyler's blush probably gives away the answer to that. "It was my date," he yells back. "You weren't even supposed to be there."

"So I didn't miss anything," Looch says.

"You missed talking about Seggy's boyfriend after they ditched us," Ference says.

Tyler turns toward his stall so they won't see how much he's blushing. Someone will probably notice he's not protesting them labeling Nathan as his boyfriend, but maybe not yet.

"He's cute," Ference continues. "We don't know anything else about him because he dragged Seggy off onto the dancefloor before we could find out."

"We know he makes Tyler blush." Marchy slings an arm around Tyler's shoulders, which would really be getting in his way if he'd managed to start putting on his gear yet. Marchy smacks a kiss onto his cheek.

Tyler half-heartedly shoves Marchy away. "You already know too much."

Marchy laughs. "I don't know nearly enough." He points at Tyler. "You, me, Katrina, and Nathan. Dinner. Sometime this week."

It's not an unreasonable request. "Not tonight," Tyler says. "Maybe tomorrow. I'll ask him."

Looch whistles, loud and obnoxious. "Three nights in a row. It must really be serious."

Tyler starts pulling on his gear so he doesn't have to answer that. It is serious, for him at least. He doesn't know yet if Nathan feels the same way.

*

They have dinner with Marchy and Katrina on Sunday night. It's about what Tyler expects, a little chirping and more genuine attempts to get to know Nathan.

"I like him," Marchy says at the end of the evening, when they're splitting up to go home.

"Me too," Tyler says. He thumps Marchy's shoulder. "Thanks."

They say goodbye, and Tyler and Nathan walk back to the car.

"Well," Nathan says with a smile, "I guess I passed the first round of interrogation."

Tyler laughs. "It wasn't that bad."

"No," Nathan says. "It's nice that they care about you that much."

Tyler ducks his head. "Yeah."

Nathan moves closer and holds his hand the rest of the way to the car.

"You want to come over?" Tyler asks when they get in and he turns the key so the heater will kick in and warm them up.

"No," Nathan says. "I mean, I want to, and this weekend has been great, but I really do have to get back into my school routine now."

Tyler's disappointed, but he drives Nathan home. They make out in the car for a while, because Nathan's willing to do that even if he does have school tomorrow.

Nathan is the one who pulls away, both of them panting, loud in the silence of the car.

"Fuck," Nathan says after a moment. "I wish-" He doesn't finish his sentence, just shakes his head and leans over to brush his lips over Tyler's. "Go home," he says. "I'll text you."

"Yeah," Tyler says. He licks his lips and looks at Nathan, flushed and looking like he was just making out with someone. "Is it creepy to say I'm going to jerk off thinking about you?"

Nathan groans. "If it is," he says, "I don't care." He leans over, hand curving tight around the back of Tyler's head, and kisses him swiftly. Then he gets out of the car and goes into his building without looking back.

*

They do text, all the time, talk on the phone when Tyler's on the road, and have dinner and sex when he's in town. They go clubbing a couple more times, which always ends up with them all over each other and having to go home before they do something indecent on the dance floor.

Nathan creeps into Tyler's conversations, until he finds himself telling stories about him to his mom.

She pins him with a look that's meant to be obeyed, even when being directed at him over Skype, and says, "You're serious about him."

"Yes," Tyler says, knowing what's coming next.

"I want to meet him. We're going to be there in two weeks."

There's no getting out of it, and Tyler doesn't really want to - he wants his mom to meet and like Nathan - so he nods and says, "I'll make sure he's free."

He doesn't ask Nathan over the phone or text, waits until they're having dinner at Tyler's before he says, "My mom's going to be here in a week and a half. She wants to meet you."

"Your mom, huh?" Nathan says. "Do you want her to meet me?"

Tyler looks down at his plate instead of looking at Nathan as he says, "When I came out to her, she said if I was ever serious about someone she wanted to meet him, so, yeah."

Nathan reaches out and takes his hand. "I'm serious about you too." He brings Tyler's hand up to his mouth and brushes a kiss across his knuckles. "I'd like to meet your mom."

Tyler abandons his food so he can make out with Nathan instead. If he didn't actually need to eat, he would try to talk Nathan into skipping the rest of dinner and going straight to bed. He does need to eat, though, so he stops kissing Nathan after a couple of minutes.

"You'll have to meet my stepdad and one of my sisters too," Tyler says after he sort of comes back to reality. "And you can come to the game, if you want. That's why they're coming down."

The smile he gets from Nathan for that is soft and sweet. "Sure," he says. "I've watched a little bit of a couple of your games on TV, but I've never been to a game. I don't really understand hockey, but I want to see you do something you love."

Tyler smiles back at him so hard that he can feel his face stretching with it. "My sister plays and my mom played back in the day, so they can explain anything you don't understand."

*

Tyler calls his dad the next day, late enough that Dad's probably home from work and done with dinner, and Tyler won't be interrupting anything.

They chat for a bit, catching up, and then at a break in the conversation, Tyler says, "I've been dating someone."

"Oh, yeah?" Dad asks.

"Yeah. His name is Nathan, and he's in grad school studying architecture. He doesn't really understand hockey at all, but he's really, really great." There are a lot of other things Tyler could tell Dad, like he thinks Nathan is going to be around for a long, long time, but he sticks to the basics. Dad can find out the rest over time.

"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," Dad says. It kind of misses the point.

"Yeah," Tyler says. "Mom and Cassidy are going to be here soon, and they're going to meet him, so I wanted to tell you before you heard about him from Cass. You can meet him next time you're down here."

"Well, all right," Dad says, and that time he sounds more like he's taking it seriously. "We'll plan on that."

*

Fred is also, of course, invited to have dinner with Tyler's family. They take Tyler's car to pick up Nathan, and then Tyler makes Fred sit in the back so Nathan can sit up front with him. Fred rolls his eyes, but he gets in the back and doesn't make too much fun of them when Tyler leans over to kiss Nathan.

Tyler's family is already at the restaurant when they get there. They all hug Tyler, and then Fred, and then there's a pause, and Tyler tugs Nathan forward by the hand.

"This is Nathan. This is my mom Jackie, my stepdad Jeff, and my sister Cassidy."

"Hello, Nathan," Mom says. She hugs Nathan. "It's so nice to finally meet you."

"It's nice to meet you," Nathan says. He shakes Jeff's hand and waves at Cassidy.

Cassidy tugs Tyler down so she can say, "He's cute," without Nathan overhearing.

Tyler grins at her. "I know."

When the hostess shows them to their table, Tyler sits between Cassidy and Nathan with Fred, Mom, and Jeff across from them.

Mom asks Nathan a lot of questions about school, which is cool because Nathan always looks happy when he's talking about architecture. He seems comfortable with it, too, not freaked out at all about meeting Tyler's family.

When there's a break in that conversation, Cassidy leans around Tyler and asks, "But how can you date my brother if you don't know anything about hockey?"

"Cassidy," Tyler groans. "Come on."

Nathan just laughs. "Did he tell you how we met?"

Cassidy says, "No," and looks suspiciously at Tyler.

"I was at a party," Nathan says, "trying to explain to some girls why they should watch _Pretty Little Liars_ , and then the hottest guy who's ever talked to me came over and agreed with me that it's better than _Gossip Girl_. So," Nathan shrugs, "obviously hockey's not the only thing in your brother's life."

Cassidy stares at Tyler. "You seriously went up to him and talked about _Pretty Little Liars_."

"Yeah," Tyler says. "He's cute, and it was something I could talk about."

"And then," Nathan says, "he watched all of _The O.C._ because I told him about it."

Cassidy looks between them. "I don't know if that's romantic or the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"Cassidy," Mom says. She's smiling at them, though, kind of like she's not sure if she should be laughing or not.

"No reason it can't be both," Fred says. "They're all lovey-dovey all the time, but it's still one of the dumbest how they met stories I've ever heard."

Tyler groans as Cassidy's look sharpens. "Lovey-dovey, huh?" She hits Tyler in the arm. "Why didn't you tell me about him earlier?"

"So I could avoid this conversation. I can't wait until you have a boyfriend. I'm going to embarrass you so much."

Cassidy turns bright red.

Tyler gapes at her. "You have a boyfriend?"

"I don't have a boyfriend! And we're not talking about me."

She's lying, and Tyler calls her on it. "You totally do. Who is it? Tell me about him."

"He's not my boyfriend," Cassidy says. "He's just a friend."

"Uh-huh," Tyler says, "and I just like texting Nathan about TV shows."

"We're going to want to meet him," Mom says, "if we don't know him already."

Cassidy makes an outraged noise and hits Tyler in the arm. She's strong enough that it kind of hurts. "You had to say something."

"You were laughing about my boyfriend, so."

"I wasn't laughing about your boyfriend. I was laughing about how you only meet people in dumb ways."

"I do not!" Tyler's protest gets drowned out by Fred laughing at both of them.

"You'll get used to this," he says to Nathan. "They're always like this, and you should see it when it's all three of them. Someone ends up laughing so hard they fall out of their chair."

Nathan slings his arm along the back of Tyler's chair. "Sounds like fun."

Tyler grins at him. "It is." He leans against Nathan's arm.

"It is now," Mom says. "When they were little, we couldn't take them anywhere." She's smiling while she says it, which makes her seem nice, but Tyler and Cassidy didn't end up the way they are for nothing; she then proceeds to tell Nathan a handful of stories about Tyler as a kid that aren't quite embarrassing because he was a kid, but are probably not the stories he would choose to tell.

After that, though, she moves on to talking to Fred about what he's been doing and how his family is, and Tyler can relax a little more.

They linger over dessert and coffee, but they finally leave when the restaurant is mostly closing up around them. There are hugs for everyone, even Mom and Cassidy hugging Nathan.

"We'll see you at the game tomorrow," Mom says to Nathan.

"I'm looking forward to it," Nathan says, and then he tucks his hand into Tyler's. On the way back to the car, Fred walking a little ahead of them, he says, "Your family's nice."

"Yeah," Tyler says. "They're great." He squeezes Nathan's hand. "They liked you too." He's introduced them to enough of his friends over the years to be able to tell that much even without any of them saying it outright.

"Good," Nathan says. "It's always better to be on good terms with the boyfriend's family."

Tyler likes the way he says that, like of course they're together and he wants to know Tyler's family.

*

Tyler meets up with his family for lunch after morning skate, and the first thing Mom says once they're settled in is, "Nathan seems very nice. And he adores you."

Tyler turns bright red. "I like him too," he says.

Mom says, "Mmhmm," like she has an idea of how much he likes Nathan.

Cassidy pokes him in the cheek. "You're blushing so hard."

Tyler grabs her finger. "Oh, and should I ask you about your boyfriend?" He grins at her blush. "Now who's blushing so hard?"

Cassidy tries to wrench away from him, and he pokes at her cheek, and the only reason she doesn't fall out of her chair in the ensuing scuffle is that Tyler catches her before she can, just before their waiter comes up to see if they're ready to order.

They have to more or less behave themselves after that. Tyler doesn't manage to get anything more about whatever guy Cassidy is into out of her, but they have a good time anyway.

After he says goodbye to his family, he goes home for a nap, and then it's right into game day routines and he doesn't have time to think about anything but hockey. It's a good game, solid work by the boys, and Tyler nets a goal in the second that brings them up by two. Tuukka gives up one in the third, but it's more than balanced by Krejci putting one in five minutes later.

Getting a goal in a win means Tyler has to do his time with the press, which isn't much of a chore since he just has to talk about his goal and how great his team was. Way easier than interviews after a loss.

Once he's done with them, he takes a quick shower, gets dressed, and leaves the room to find his family and Nathan, which doesn't take long because they're all hanging out in the hallway. They seem to have bonded; they're standing together and talking, and everyone looks happy.

Mom sees him first, and she goes around Cassidy and Nathan to come over and hug Tyler. "Great game, honey."

Tyler smiles at the praise and kisses her cheek, then lets go of her so Cassidy can jump on him.

"Sweet goal," she says.

Tyler grins and says thank you to her and to Jeff, who also congratulates him.

Nathan waits for them to be done before he steps forward. "I had no idea what was happening," he says with a quick grin, "but they replayed your goal on the screen so I got to see it."

Tyler laughs and hugs him. "At least you saw it."

"I liked watching you play," Nathan says. "You looked like you were enjoying it." He leans in and brushes a kiss across Tyler's cheek. "And you look really good in that suit," he murmurs quietly enough that no one else can hear him.

Tyler blushes. "Thanks," he says, just as quietly. "Later you can see how good I look out of it."

"Mmm," Nathan says. "Looking forward to it." He pulls away to a more casual distance, arm still around Tyler, but not pressed against him anymore. "So what's the post-game protocol?"

"Well," Tyler says, "Cassidy's too young to go to a bar, so nothing too fun."

Cassidy rolls her eyes at him, and he grins back at her.

"I know a place with good cheesecake," Tyler says.

"You're totally my favorite brother," Cassidy says.

"I know." Tyler puts his free arm around her. "You're going to love it."

It's a tight fit to get all five of them in Tyler's car, but they manage it, and he takes them to the coffee shop that is, thankfully, still open and serving cheesecake.

Cassidy does love it, settling into one of the couches with her cheesecake and talking about how neat the place is, and how much cooler inside than it looks from the outside. "How did you even find this place?"

"Uh," Tyler says. He probably should've thought that she would ask that.

Mom laughs at him gently. "Bad form to bring your boyfriend somewhere you went with someone else." It's something he would expect from Candace, but that's where she got it.

"It was only once," Tyler says. "And it didn't work out anyway." He puts his hand on Nathan's knee. "I didn't like him as much as I like you."

Nathan shrugs. "As long as I'm the only one you're taking places now, we're cool. Although you looked so panicked about it there has to be a good story there."

It's a kind of embarrassing story, but he owns up to it anyway. "My ex-girlfriend picked up a guy for me, and he brought me here because it was too loud to talk in the bar."

"Your ex-girlfriend?" Nathan asks, and, right, they haven't really talked about how Tyler used to date girls.

"Was it Ciara?" Cassidy asks. "She's nice. You'll like her."

"Nice" is maybe not the first word Tyler would use to describe Ciara, but he doesn't contradict Cassidy's assessment. "She's cool," he tells Nathan.

"And the guy knew his coffee shops," Mom says. "This cheesecake is excellent."

The talk about food gets Tyler out of having to talk about how he found the place anymore, and the topic doesn't come up again.

Tyler drops his family off at their hotel after they spend a while hanging out at the coffee shop. He promises to meet them for brunch before they have to leave tomorrow, and his mom hugs Nathan close.

"You come spend time with us whenever you want," she says.

"I'm sure I'll see you again," Nathan says. He steps back to lean against Tyler's side.

Mom smiles at both of them, and ducks in to kiss Tyler's cheek before she goes into the hotel with Jeff and Cassidy.

"I can't stay at your place tonight," Nathan says. "But take me home and you can come up so you only have to drive back once. I still want to take that suit off of you."

Tyler doesn't have any problem with that, so he heads for Nathan's place instead of his.

They drive in silence for a couple of minutes before Nathan asks, "Ex-girlfriend?"

Figures he wouldn't forget about that. "Uh, yeah," Tyler says. "I'm kind of dumb, I guess, and I didn't know that wasn't what I wanted." He glances over to see how Nathan's taking this, but can't quite tell. "We're still friends."

"You're not that dumb," Nathan says. "And you figured it out before you met me."

"Yeah," Tyler says. "You're not, like, mad?"

"I'm guessing," Nathan says, "that I'd be wasting a lot of energy if I started getting mad about everyone you've ever dated. As long as I'm the only one now."

"You are," Tyler rushes to assure him.

"Good," Nathan says, and then he doesn't say anything else until they get to his place and they say hi to his roommates on the way to his room. After they're alone, Nathan shuts the door behind them, he pushes Tyler up against it and kisses him hard.

Tyler lets out a muffled moan and wraps his arms around Nathan to keep him as close as possible.

"You in that suit," Nathan says, "is pure torture." He pushes his hands under Tyler's jacket. "Take it off."

Tyler has to push away from the door to slide his jacket off, and Nathan steps back even farther to watch him. Tyler tosses the jacket over the back of a chair and pulls his already loosened tie over his head to go with it. He unbuttons his shirt slowly. He tries to watch Nathan watching him, but he's too clumsy with want and has to look down to see what he's doing. He gets his shirt unbuttoned, but Nathan steps close again and slides his hands across Tyler's abs and around his back to tug him into another kiss before he can take it all the way off.

If Nathan's going to be that close, Tyler wants to be able to really feel him. He hooks his hands under the hem of Nathan's shirt and pulls it up. They're so close the fabric brushes his chest all the way up too. Nathan lets go of him just long enough for Tyler to get his shirt off, then he pushes close again and this time Tyler can feel Nathan's skin against his where his shirt is hanging open.

They make out for a long time, exchanging kisses deep enough to make Tyler dizzy. Tyler slides his hands down Nathan's back to his ass, both liking the way it feels under his hands and using the grip to pull him closer so he can feel Nathan hard against him. Nathan rubs against him, generating just enough friction on Tyler's cock to make him gasp.

"I thought you wanted me out of this suit."

Nathan pulls back and looks at him. "I changed my mind," he says. "Keep the rest of it on."

Tyler's heart is already beating faster at the heat in Nathan's voice when Nathan kneels down in front of him. Nathan really meant what he said; he unzips Tyler's pants but doesn't pull them down. He gets Tyler's cock out and goes down on him like that.

Tyler's had people suck him off in bar bathrooms without getting his clothes off, but it's different when he's half in his game day suit in Nathan's brightly lit bedroom with Nathan kneeling in front of him. Better. Hotter. Hot for Nathan too, because he has one hand wrapped around the base of Tyler's cock, but the other is lower, where Tyler can't quite see it but knows it has to be pressing on his own cock.

Tyler tries to stay quiet, only a door and a short hallway between them and Nathan's roommates, but he knows he's making some noise. The blowjob is too good not to.

He definitely makes a noise when Nathan stops sucking him.

Nathan squeezes the base of his cock lightly. "Lie down." He stands up and pushes Tyler toward the bed, hand still around Tyler's cock.

Tyler lies down, propping his head up on a pillow so he can watch Nathan. He's waiting for Nathan to go down on him again, but he doesn't. Instead he moves the hand still on Tyler's cock, jerking him off in a smooth, even rhythm, hand just tight enough around Tyler to make it really good.

Tyler makes a noise, and Nathan leans down to kiss him silent.

"I want to get you off just like this," Nathan says. He pulls back and looks down Tyler's body. "You look so fucking good half out of your suit with my hand on you."

Tyler says Nathan's name and pushes himself up, twisting to try to get to kiss him. Nathan bends down to meet him, then breaks the kiss when he picks up speed with his hand.

Tyler closes his eyes for a second, but he can't keep them closed, not with Nathan next to him, cock hard in his jeans and biting his lip while he looks down at Tyler. He says Nathan's name again, in a whine this time.

"Yeah," Nathan says. He puts his other hand on Tyler, sliding it up his abs, and then back down, and under his cock to cup his balls. He squeezes, rolls them in one hand while his other hand keeps sliding up and down Tyler's cock.

"I'm gonna," Tyler gasps out, and Nathan says, "Yeah, come on, come for me."

Nathan's holding his cock, and he pushes it up toward Tyler's stomach as he comes, so the sharp pleasure of his orgasm is matched with the splash of come across his stomach and chest.

"Tyler," Nathan groans, and he bends down to kiss Tyler hard and fast before sitting up and getting his cock out. He jerks himself off with the hand he was just using to jerk off Tyler, and if Tyler could get hard again now, he would.

"You're going to make a mess out of me," Tyler says, guessing at what Nathan's going for. It works, and Nathan moans and leans closer so when he comes, he comes all over Tyler. It mostly lands on his skin, but some of it gets on his shirt, not that he cares that much.

"Fuck," Nathan says. He kisses Tyler again, leaning over him and breathing hard. "Shit, I got come on your shirt."

"Doesn't matter," Tyler says. He pulls Nathan closer. "That was so hot. Totally worth it."

"Oh, yeah." Nathan lies down next to Tyler, pillowing his head on Tyler's shoulder. "I'm going to jerk off to that while you're on road trips."

That surprises Tyler into giggles. "Me too," he says. He runs his fingers through Nathan's hair. "I like you so much," he says, the words spilling out of him before he can think better of it. "My ex-girlfriend and the guy who took me to the coffee shop, and anyone else I ever dated, I never liked them anywhere close to as much as I like you."

Nathan lifts his head, and then he kisses Tyler, soft and sweet with one hand on Tyler's cheek. "I'm really not upset about it," he says. "And I like you too." He strokes Tyler's cheek and they just look into each other's eyes for a really long time. "I haven't liked anyone I've ever dated as much as I like you."

Tyler pushes up and kisses him, then keeps kissing him while he rolls them over so he's lying on top of Nathan. They're both getting messy and Tyler's pants are going to be wrinkled beyond belief, but Tyler doesn't stop kissing Nathan, not for any of that.

They can't make out forever, though, and eventually Tyler pulls away with a few last kisses. "I should go," he says.

Nathan rubs his palm over Tyler's cheek but doesn't disagree. He sits up a little to watch while Tyler gets his clothes put back together enough that he can get home. It's still obvious what he's been doing; Tyler's going to get chirped by Fred if he's still up, and Nathan will probably get chirped by his roommates.

Tyler goes over to kiss Nathan again before he leaves. Nathan leans up to meet him and holds on for a long moment.

"I'm really glad you introduced me to your family," Nathan says.

Tyler smiles at him, one of those smiles that seems to come from deep inside him when he doesn't have any other way to deal with how happy he is. "You'll have to introduce me to yours next."

Nathan takes his hand and pulls him down for another kiss. "Yes," he says. "Next time they're here. I want them to know you."

Tyler kisses him for that, for so long he's almost dizzy when they stop. "I'll call you tomorrow," he says.

"If you don't," Nathan says, "I will."

Tyler grins at him, and then makes himself leave. He cheerfully ignores the looks he gets from Nathan's roommates while he waves goodnight on his way through the living room.

*

Tyler's on his bed with Marshall, Skyping with Brownie, when someone taps on his door. He looks up from his laptop and calls, "Yeah."

The door pushes open and Nathan pokes his head around it. "Hey," he says. "Fred let me in."

Marshall jumps off the bed and goes over to Nathan, who crouches down to rub behind his ears.

Tyler smiles at Nathan. "Hey." He pats the bed next to him. "You can come meet Brownie."

Nathan closes the door behind himself and sits down next to Tyler, close enough that they're both in view of the camera. Marshall jumps up on the bed with them, crowding into them in a way that makes Tyler laugh and push him out of the way.

"Okay," he says when Marshall's settled down a little. "This is Nathan. This is Brownie."

Brownie's smiling at them from the screen, and he says. "Hey. Nice to meet you. Segs can't stop talking about you."

Nathan smiles and kisses Tyler's cheek. "I can't stop talking about him either. You're the best friend who plays in Glens Falls, right?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"Cool," Nathan says. "I'm from Corinth. Maybe I'll come see you play sometime when I'm home." He leans into Tyler. "I still don't know much about hockey, but I made it through one of Tyler's games."

Tyler laughs and hooks his chin over Nathan's shoulder. "Maybe we'll both go to a game in Providence."

"Oh," Nathan says, turning his head to smile at Tyler, "that sounds even better. It's a date."

Brownie laughs at them. "Wow," he says. "Do you need me to leave you two alone?"

"Would you?" Tyler asks.

Nathan laughs and nudges him with an elbow. "No," he says. "You're Tyler's best friend. I want to get to know you."

"Yeah," Brownie says. "You're Tyler's boyfriend. I want to get to know you too."

Tyler puts his head down on Nathan's shoulder. "This is going to be terrible."

"Nah," Brownie says. "I won't tell him about the time-"

Tyler's hand shoots out to grab the top of his laptop. "I will close this so fast," he says. "You don't even know."

Brownie smirks. "I wasn't even going to say anything."

Nathan takes Tyler's hand off the laptop and holds it between both of his. "You're supposed to tell me about you," he says to Brownie, "not Tyler."

"I don't know," Brownie says with a shrug. "I play hockey. I'm a better cook than Segs. I have a girlfriend I want to marry someday."

Nathan turns to look at Tyler. "Is he a better cook?"

Tyler nods. "He did most of the cooking when we lived together over the summer a couple of times."

"Segs isn't bad," Brownie says. "I keep trying to teach him how to be better, but he's always more interested in Marshall or, like, TV shows."

Marshall perks up at the sound of his name, and nudges his head into Tyler's lap.

"I think I'm with Tyler on this one," Nathan says. He frees one of his hands from Tyler's and pets Marshall.

"You really are sickeningly cute together," Brownie says.

Tyler can feel his cheeks heating up, and he knows Brownie can see it because he can see it in the tiny image of him and Nathan in the corner of the screen. "Like you and Julie aren't," he mutters.

Brownie just grins at him. "Too bad we're never in the same place. We could double date."

Tyler looks at Nathan, who's still petting Marshall. "Maybe over the summer," he says, watching Nathan to see what he thinks about that.

Nathan squeezes his hand, and the corners of his mouth tug up into a smile.

"No, really," Brownie says. "You're making me sick. Be cute on your own time."

Nathan laughs. "Okay, okay," he says. He and Tyler both look at the screen. "This is you time. I get it."

Brownie rolls his eyes, but he also smiles and drags the conversation onto a different track.

They say goodbye a little while later, and Tyler closes his laptop and moves it off the bed. Then he turns to Nathan and pulls him in to kiss him. "Hi," he says against Nathan's lips.

"Hi," Nathan says. "So now I know your roommate, your dog, your mom, and your best friend."

"Yeah." Tyler pulls back a little. "Is that okay?"

Nathan pulls him back in. "Yes, of course it is." He kisses Tyler, deep and soft. "I love it."

Tyler kisses Nathan, because that's the only thing he can do with the way that makes him feel. He tips Nathan down onto the bed so they can make out even easier.

Marshall jumps off the bed and whines to be let out of the room. Tyler and Nathan break apart with a laugh.

Tyler gets off the bed to open the door for Marshall to leave. When he turns around after he closes it again, his breath catches at the sight of Nathan stretched out on his bed, smile on his face as he looks at Tyler.

Tyler climbs back into bed, pushing Nathan onto his back and lying down over him. "I'm glad you're here," he says.

Nathan's smile softens. "Me too."

*

Tyler wakes up sometime around midnight. Nathan's still asleep, curled up against him, and Tyler has to carefully disentangle himself so he can get up. He pulls on a pair of pajama pants and goes to the kitchen. He woke up because he needs something to eat, even though it's late.

Marshall gets up with him, and Tyler feeds him a doggie treat before he investigates the fridge and makes himself a sandwich. He takes it into the living room and flips channels. He's not really looking for anything in particular, just something to watch while he eats, but he finds a station showing _The Notebook_ , and leaves it there.

Allie and Noah are just paddling out in the boat when Nathan wanders into the living room in nothing but his underwear. "You left," he says with a yawn.

Tyler holds up his plate. "I was hungry."

"Right," Nathan says. "Athletes." He sits down on the couch and leans against Tyler's side.

They watch the rain come down, and Allie yelling at Noah, and Tyler can't help sighing when Noah tells her he wrote to her. Nathan's also sighing at it, and relaxing more against Tyler.

"I love this scene," Nathan says.

"Me too," Tyler says. It's dark, just the TV and the light he left on in the kitchen, and everything about the moment is perfect, and Tyler hopes he's not ruining it when he says, "I'd write you letters every day for a year."

It doesn't ruin it. Nathan smiles at him, a slow, joyful smile that spreads across his face like sunshine, and he leans in and kisses Tyler the same way.

*

Tyler doesn't exactly forget that Nathan's in school, but most of the time it's no big deal for them to schedule around it. At the end of November, though, when they're sitting at the counter in Tyler's kitchen having breakfast, Nathan lets out a heavy sigh and says, "Finals are coming up."

"Yeah?" Tyler vaguely remembers that from when Fred was still in school.

"Mmhmm." Nathan leans over and presses a kiss to Tyler's cheek. "I have a couple of big projects, and some tests. I'm going to be busy until they're over. I mean, I'll try to see you when I'm free and we can text and whatever, but school has to come first."

"Yeah," Tyler says, "of course." Hockey comes first for him, so he can let Nathan do what he needs to for school.

It turns out that's easier to say than to do. Nathan isn't just busy most of the time, he's busy all the time. As much as Tyler tries to understand it, he _misses_ Nathan, with a fierceness that daily texts don't ease. It's worse than a road trip, because Nathan is right there in Boston, and Tyler still doesn't get to see him.

When even he's starting to get tired of how much he's moping around the house - Fred stopped being sympathetic after the third day, and Marshall will only lie around with Tyler for so long before he gets bored and goes to find something more fun - Tyler decides enough is enough and Nathan has to take at least a short break every once in a while. He orders a stack of pizzas and takes them over to Nathan's for dinner.

Nathan buzzes him into the building and opens the door when Tyler gets to his apartment.

"I know you said you're busy," Tyler says as soon as the door is open, "but you have to eat, and I swear I'll leave right after dinner."

Nathan did look kind of annoyed with him when he opened the door, but his face smoothes out and he pulls Tyler in by his lapels to kiss him over the pizza boxes. "You're too cute to say no to," Nathan says, and then he lets Tyler all the way into the apartment. "Tyler brought pizza," he says to the people sitting around the living room.

"Nathan's boyfriend," Cody explains to the people Tyler doesn't recognize. He waves a hand. "Study group."

The study group introduces itself, a bunch of names Tyler probably won't remember after tonight, and Nathan goes down the hall to knock on a closed door and comes back with Drew in tow.

"You didn't have to do this," Nathan says to Tyler while everyone else gets pizza.

Tyler shrugs. "I don't mind. And I missed you."

Nathan's face softens. "I missed you too." He leans in and kisses Tyler, not very deep, but slow and easy all the same.

They get pizza after everyone else already has some, settling down together on the floor around the coffee table. Everything is silent for a couple of minutes while the whole group of them devours their first slices.

Cody breaks the silence by saying, "I think this is the best pizza I've ever had."

"Because you're hungry," Drew says.

"And it's free," Nathan adds.

"Free food does always taste better," Cody says. He nods at Tyler. "Thanks, man."

That sets of a chorus of thanks that Tyler smiles at. Once the silence is broken, they all slow down a little and eating is combined with talking. There's a little conversation about schoolwork, but no one really wants to talk about the finals they're cramming for, so it drifts from there.

It's fun, everyone relaxing while they eat, and lots of smiles by the time people are putting their plates down and declaring themselves stuffed.

Drew and Cody gather up plates and Nathan puts the leftovers in the fridge. Tyler stands up while they do that.

"I'll go," he says to Nathan.

Nathan takes his hand. "Come to my room and make out with me for ten minutes first."

Tyler beams at him and ignores the catcalls that follow them to Nathan's room. Once they're there, Nathan actually sets an alarm on his phone before he pulls Tyler down onto his bed.

Making out with Nathan is always good, and even more so since Tyler's missed him so much. He tries to keep it slow, but knowing that there's a ticking clock makes him clutch at Nathan's shoulders until Nathan pushes him down onto his back, lies on top of him, and takes charge, forcing them to keep it to a slow, easy pace.

Nathan's hair is a mess when the alarm on his phone goes off, and Tyler's probably isn't any better. Even if he does something about his hair, it's obvious what they've been up to by how red Nathan's lips are and the flush on his cheeks.

Nathan stretches over Tyler to get at his phone, and comes back to kiss Tyler lightly before he sits up.

"That didn't seem like ten minutes," Tyler says, pushing himself up too.

"I know," Nathan says. He brushes his lips over Tyler's. "I've missed that."

"Me too." Tyler puts his arms around Nathan. "Let's not go that long without seeing each other again."

Nathan pats his arm and kisses his cheek. "The semester's almost over."

"Good," Tyler says. He lays his head down on Nathan's shoulder. "I miss you a lot."

Nathan hugs him tightly. "Me too." He kisses Tyler's forehead, and then pushes him away. "Your ten minutes are up, though, and I still have a lot of work to do."

Tyler sighs but stands up and lets Nathan walk him to the front door where they only kiss briefly because Cody and his study group are still in the living room.

"I'll call you as soon as I'm done," Nathan says. "I promise."

"Okay. I'll be waiting." Tyler squeezes Nathan's hand and then leaves because he promised he would.

*

Nathan's semester ending is great, because it means they get to have sex again. Nathan comes over to Tyler's and stays the night, and it's pretty much perfect except in the morning he tells Tyler that he's leaving in a week to go home for Christmas.

"I'm going to miss you," Nathan says, smoothing Tyler's hair back and leaning over him while they're lying in bed. "But I do need to go see my family."

Tyler grumbles about it, but he does understand, so he doesn't grumble too much, and he makes sure they spend much of the week together. Nathan has plans with some of his friends, and Tyler has practices, games, and a quick overnight road trip to DC, but they spend most of the rest of the time together. They don't, despite Fred's teasing, spend the whole time in bed. They also go dancing, watch TV on the couch, and take in a couple of Boston's architectural treasures.

The last full day Nathan's in Boston, they spend the afternoon napping and then go out for a really nice dinner where they sit in a dimly lit restaurant and hold hands across the table.

"I have something for you," Tyler says when they get back to his place.

"I'll bet you do," Nathan says, groping him through his pants. They split a bottle of wine with dinner, and Nathan drank most of it.

Tyler laughs. "That too." He kisses Nathan and almost forgets about anything else. He only remembers when Marshall interrupts them by nosing at their knees and whining for attention.

Nathan crouches down to pet Marshall, keeping up a tipsy ramble about what a good dog he is, and Tyler steps away to get the envelope for Nathan off the kitchen counter.

"Oh," Nathan says when Tyler hands him the envelope. "I have something for you too." He gets a small, brightly wrapped package out of the backpack he dropped in the entryway when he came over and hasn't opened since. He pushes the package into Tyler's hands. "Open that first."

Tyler rips through the paper, grinning at Nathan while he does. Inside the paper is a small stack of cards, held together with ribbon. The one on the top says, "Coupons. For Tyler. Merry Christmas!" Tyler flips through it to see what kind of coupons they are. "Marathon a TV show of your choice." "Spend a whole day in bed." "One blowjob, no reciprocation required."

Tyler grins at the coupon book, and then at Nathan. "This is awesome." He pulls Nathan close and kisses him. "Thank you." He nudges Nathan's hand still holding the envelope. "Now you."

Nathan tears open the envelope carefully and pulls out the folded paper inside. He looks at it, and then up at Tyler. "A hotel room?"

Tyler nods. "I don't have enough time off for us to go to Oslo, but we can go to New York and see the World Trade Center Pavilion and Times Square, or whatever you want to do. I have a game, so I'll have to meet you there, and I can buy you bus tickets if you can't borrow a car-"

Nathan cuts him off by kissing him. "Thank you," he says. "It's perfect."

Tyler kisses back, wrapping his arms around Nathan, one hand on Nathan's ass and the other on his back.

Marshall breaks them apart again, and they both look down at him.

"No," Nathan says. "You go lie down." He wraps his hand around Tyler's. "You too, but in your bed."

Tyler laughs and lets Nathan drag him to his room. They're too loud, but Nathan's leaving tomorrow, so Fred can deal with it for one night.

*

Tyler goes home for his two-day Christmas break, a quick trip to exchange gifts with his family, hang out with his friends who are also home visiting their families, and sleep late with no practice for a couple of days. He misses Nathan, but they call and text and Skype, and three days after Tyler goes back to Boston, he waves off invitations to go out after the game and gets in his car to drive to New York.

He's wired enough that he doesn't worry about being on the road this late, and the lack of traffic means the drive goes by quickly. Nathan texted him when he checked in earlier, so Tyler just has to give his car keys to the valet, grab his copy of the room key from the front desk, and take the elevator up.

It's the middle of the night, so he expects Nathan to be asleep, but when he keys into the room, the lights are on, and Nathan turns off the TV and stands up from the bed.

"Hi," Nathan says. He's in pajama pants and a long sleeve shirt, but he looks completely awake, and he meets Tyler in the middle of the room.

"Hi." Tyler bends his head to kiss Nathan, and then keeps his hands off of him long enough to take off his coat. He ditched his suit jacket and tie in the car once he got away from the rink, so that leaves him in his suit pants and dress shirt.

"Nice," Nathan says, running his hands up Tyler's chest and over his shoulders.

"I like what you're wearing too," Tyler says. He puts his arms around Nathan and hugs him close for a couple of long minutes before he slides one hand down to Nathan's ass.

Nathan grins at him and kisses him, and then keeps kissing him while he brings his hands between them and unbuttons Tyler's shirt. His hands go up over Tyler's shoulders again when he pushes his shirt off, and while they're up a little anyway, Tyler grabs the hem of his t-shirt and pulls it over his head.

Then they're kissing again, bare skin against bare skin this time. Nathan's pajama pants are soft under Tyler's hands, but they're both getting hard, and he wants to touch Nathan without them.

They don't have to stop kissing while Tyler hooks his fingers in the waistband of Nathan's pants and pushes them down over his hips where they fall the rest of the way to the ground on their own. They keep kissing while Nathan returns the favor, unbuckling Tyler's belt, shoving his zipper down, tugging his pants and boxer briefs off.

They take a shuffling step to the side to get out of the tangle of their clothes. Tyler kind of wants to blow Nathan, but he really doesn't want to stop kissing him, so instead he just shuffles them over to the bed so he can lie down with Nathan on top of him.

Nathan shifts around until it's perfect, their thighs slotted together and cocks rubbing against each other. It's just as good as blowing Nathan would be.

Tyler groans when Nathan stops kissing him to nuzzle at his jaw and nip at his neck instead. "Yeah," he says.

"Yeah," Nathan echoes, and then he kisses Tyler's neck again. "Fuck, you're going to make me come."

"Good." Tyler tips Nathan's head up to kiss him again, and puts his hand on Nathan's ass to rub them together a little more. It's pretty much perfect, kissing Nathan while he has all of Nathan's naked body against his.

They move together a little longer, and then Nathan jerks his mouth away from Tyler's and cries out as he comes between them.

Tyler doesn't let him move away, holds him close and gets his mouth against Nathan's cheek while he rubs against Nathan until he comes.

They pant into each other's mouths, trying to kiss while they're both still recovering. It doesn't work all that well at first, but better as they catch their breath, and then Nathan rolls off of Tyler and gets out of bed.

"Stay there," he says. "I'll get something to clean us up." He goes into the bathroom and comes back with a wet washcloth he runs over Tyler's abs and cock. He bends down after Tyler's clean and presses a kiss to his stomach.

Tyler runs his hand through Nathan's hair, and gets a smile in return before Nathan takes the washcloth to the bathroom. Tyler sits up a little, enough to get under the covers and turn off the light next to the bed, and Nathan gets into bed with him when he comes back.

"That was good," Nathan says through a yawn.

"Mmhmm." Tyler kisses him carefully in the dark. "I didn't think you'd be up."

"Of course I waited up for you," Nathan says. He rubs his hand on Tyler's skin. "I missed you."

"Me too." Tyler kisses him again. "A lot."

*

They sleep late in the morning, since they aren't on a schedule, and they leave the hotel room a little before noon in search of breakfast. They find a place serving brunch, where Tyler has a hard time deciding between eggs and a sandwich.

"You could get both," Nathan says. "I'll try some of whatever you don't eat all of."

It's a lot of food, even for Tyler, but Nathan eats some of his eggs and lets Tyler have a couple bites of his pancakes, and they leave the restaurant pleasantly full.

"Where do you want to go?" Tyler asks.

"Let's go to Times Square first," Nathan says.

Tyler hails a cab, and they get dropped off close enough that they can walk through. Tyler's been here before, long enough ago to be able to see how it's different. Nathan is the one who knows the details, though, and he points out architectural features Tyler would miss.

After they walk around for a while, Nathan pulls Tyler down onto a bench and leans against him.

Tyler puts his arm around him. "It's cold out here."

"I know, but I want to watch for a little bit. The architects designed this to subtly guide people where they wanted them to go." Nathan looks up at Tyler. "Do you mind?"

Tyler presses a kiss to his cheek. "No." He spends so much of his life in cold places that he's used to it, and they can warm up later.

Tyler's more focused on idly watching the people themselves and doesn't notice the patterns of movement until Nathan points them out, the subtle ways the space guides people through it.

"Okay," Nathan says, pulling away from Tyler after a while. "I'm cold now."

They stand up and Tyler buys them hot chocolate from a vendor. They walk around a little more, letting their drinks and the movement warm them up.

"Do you want to go to the World Trade Center?" Tyler asks when they've thrown away their empty cups and walked all the way through Times Square. "Or do you want to go do something else."

Nathan turns in toward him. "I do want to see it," he says. "But we don't have to. It's going to be sad."

Tyler takes his hand. "That's okay. It'll be better to go together, right? Instead of seeing it and being sad by yourself?"

Nathan brushes a kiss across Tyler's lips. "Yes," he says. "Let's go."

They get a cab that drops them off right in front of the memorial. Tyler swipes his card to pay the cab driver, and then he and Nathan stop on the sidewalk to look at the space.

"That's the Pavilion," Nathan says, pointing across the memorial.

Tyler bumps his shoulder into Nathan's. "Do you want to look at it from here some more, or should we go in?"

"I want to see the reflecting pools too," Nathan says.

They set off toward the closest one. It's huge, and there are names etched into the barriers around them. They stand in front of one side for a little bit, looking into the water, and then Nathan slips his hand into Tyler's and they walk around it.

There are a lot of names. Tyler reaches out to run his hand over the lettering of a couple of them, just so he can feel it as well as see it. There's a second pool, too - they can see it from one side of the one they're walking around - which means there are even more names.

Nathan tugs him away from the pool and rubs his thumb under Tyler's eye. "Let's go inside," he says. "If you're going to cry, we can at least be warm."

Tyler blinks, and he is kind of tearing up, so he nods without trying to speak and is a little more in control by the time they stop in front of the Pavilion to look at it from up close.

Nathan leans close against Tyler's shoulder and tells him about the design of the Pavilion, some things that Tyler can understand, and a lot of technical details he's never going to remember. It's still nice, Nathan's voice in the quiet space, Nathan's obvious pleasure in getting to see the building up close.

Tyler lets Nathan set their pace as they go in. It's still a sad place, but he has to smile at the way Nathan tips his head all the way back to look at the glass that stretches up above their heads. Nathan squeezes his hand when they stop in front of the giant steel pieces that were part of the original buildings, and then he tugs Tyler away so they can look at the rest of the Pavilion.

They go through the museum while they're there, but they don't spend a lot of time in it. Nathan leans close to anything that talks about any of the buildings, but it's too sad and too heavy for them to stay long.

Tyler says, "Oh," when they come out of the main part of the museum into the Pavilion.

"What?" Nathan asks.

"It's-" Tyler looks around at all the light, even in the winter, and the glass panels. "It feels better in here. As a space."

"Yeah," Nathan says. "They did a good job making it solemn but also peaceful and light."

They walk around the other reflecting pool when they leave the Pavilion, the other half of the names. Tyler catches glimpses of them, people whose lives ended here, and he doesn't protest when Nathan wordlessly pulls him toward the street before they make it even halfway around the pool.

Nathan wraps his arms tightly around Tyler when they get to the street, and he hugs back, burying his face in Nathan's neck.

"Let's just go back to our room," Nathan says.

Tyler nods. "Yeah, good idea." He pulls away enough that Nathan can hail them a cab, and he slides in next to Nathan, holding his hand across the seats as Nathan gives the driver their hotel's address.

They don't talk in the cab. Tyler looks out the window, watching all the people who are just living their lives and holding Nathan's hand. It's not like he doesn't know life is unpredictable - he's seen plenty of guys get injured playing hockey, and there's what happened to Derrek - and he knew what the memorial was going to be - he remembers 9/11, and there are memorial moments of silence every year - but there's something about seeing evidence of so many people who didn't get to go home at the end of that day that makes him think about how precious life is. Which is kind of a cliche, but that's what the memorial is supposed to be for, right?

Tyler pays the driver when they get to their hotel, and then he and Nathan hold hands again until they get into their room and separate to take off their coats. Then Nathan puts his arms around Tyler.

"Okay?"

"Yeah," Tyler says. "I guess." He catches Nathan's mouth in a kiss that starts out soft but gets heated quickly.

"Mmm, you feel okay to me," Nathan says, sliding his hand down Tyler's body to cup his rapidly hardening cock.

Tyler blinks at him, and then kisses him hard and steps back. "I want to blow you," he says, wanting it with a force that surprises even him. He goes to his knees and looks up at Nathan to make sure he's cool with it before he gets Nathan's pants open and down so he can get his mouth on Nathan's cock.

It's exactly what he wants, and exactly what he needs. Life might be short, but they're still here, and he has proof of that in Nathan's cock hard in his mouth.

There's no point in going slow, so Tyler doesn't. He sucks hard and fucks his own mouth on Nathan's cock and doesn't realize he's making noise around it until Nathan cups his head and says, "Shh, good, that's so good, fuck, Tyler."

It doesn't stop Tyler from making noise, but it's good enough that he gets his jeans open and pulls his cock out to jerk himself off while he sucks Nathan.

Nathan comes first, by just a few seconds, and Tyler swallows down what he can and then leans his forehead on Nathan's hip while he jerks himself until it's his turn to come. He kind of shudders after he does, breathing hard against Nathan's skin until Nathan drops to his knees in front of Tyler.

Nathan wraps his arms around Tyler's shoulders and they stay on their knees for a couple of minutes until they're both recovered enough to get up. They strip out of their clothes, leaving them in a heap in the middle of the floor, before they go clean themselves up in the bathroom.

"Was that weird?" Tyler asks. "Doing that after where we were earlier?"

"No," Nathan says. He puts one arm around Tyler's waist and leans against his shoulder. "Pretty common, probably." He kisses Tyler's shoulder. "Proving we're still alive in the face of death or something like that."

Tyler looks at them in the mirror. They look as comfortable together as it feels, like they've been together long enough to look like they fit together. And life is precious and short and there's no reason not to say what he hasn't been saying for a while now.

"I love you," Tyler says, looking at Nathan's face in the mirror.

"Oh," Nathan says. He turns so Tyler can only see the side of his face in the mirror, so Tyler turns too so he can see all of Nathan's face, and the soft smile there. "I love you too."

The smile that spreads across Tyler's face is anything but soft. "Really?"

"Yes," Nathan says. "Yes, of course," and he tugs Tyler in to kiss him all soft and gentle.

*

They don't stay up very late, but Tyler's alarm still goes off too early in the morning. Nathan makes a protesting noise and turns his head into the pillow while Tyler fumbles for his phone to turn the alarm off.

"Sorry." Tyler brushes a kiss over Nathan's cheek, then gets out of bed to take a quick shower and throw on some clean clothes.

Nathan is awake by the time he's out of the shower, half sitting up in bed and watching Tyler gather up his things. "I ordered some breakfast."

"Thanks." Tyler makes sure he has everything, and then sits down on the bed with Nathan. "Sorry I can't stay. You can, but I have to get back for practice."

"I know." Nathan leans in and kisses him, then gets out of bed and comes back to kiss him again, tasting like toothpaste this time.

Tyler gets the door when there's a knock, and signs for their food. They eat breakfast in bed, Nathan still under the covers and Tyler sitting on top of them, both of them leaning against the headboard.

Tyler keeps an eye on the time, and when he's done eating, he says, "I have to go."

Nathan tugs him in by the front of his shirt and kisses him. "I love you."

"Me too." Tyler smiles a lot while he kisses Nathan again.

"Text me so I know you got back okay."

"You too." Tyler gets off the bed but bends over to kiss Nathan one more time.

Nathan seems just as reluctant to say goodbye as Tyler is, but he finally lets his hands drop away from Tyler's shoulders. "I'll be back in Boston next week. We'll do something before the semester starts."

Tyler makes himself step away from the bed and gather up his coat and bag. "Love you," he says at the door.

"Love you too." Nathan looks so good, still in bed, hair mussed, that it takes a lot of effort for Tyler to leave instead of getting back in bed with him.

*

Nathan calls the day he gets back to Boston and says, "I went to the grocery store. Come over for dinner. My roommates won't be here until late tomorrow."

Tyler isn't doing anything other than hanging out with Fred, so he leaves Marshall in Fred's care and drives over to Nathan's as soon as he hangs up the phone.

Nathan answers the door with a bright smile. Tyler smiles back and steps inside. They let the door fall closed behind them while Tyler puts his hands on Nathan's cheeks and holds him there so he can kiss him.

He has to move his hands when Nathan pushes his coat off, and then he breaks the kiss to pull Nathan's shirt over his head.

"Come on," Nathan says. "I want you in a bed."

They move slowly, kissing and touching and leaving a trail of clothes all the way to Nathan's bedroom. There's no need to close that door, so they don't bother.

Tyler lifts Nathan up and sets him down on the bed. Then he stops to just look at Nathan for a moment.

Nathan hooks his ankle around Tyler's knee. "What are you waiting for?"

"Nothing," Tyler says. He crowds close, and then leans down, making Nathan lie back and following him all the way. "Just looking at you." He kisses the corner of Nathan's mouth. "I missed you."

The look on Nathan's face softens, and he puts his arms around Tyler. "I missed you too." He kisses the underside of Tyler's jaw. "I love you."

Tyler groans. "I love you too. So much." And then he kisses Nathan and can't stop, and it's like the first night they were in New York, only better because they're at home in Nathan's bed and he knows that Nathan loves him just like he loves Nathan.

Neither one of them lasts very long, and Tyler rolls to the side after they both come. "I missed that too," he says when he's not just panting for breath.

Nathan chuckles. "Me too." He puts his head on Tyler's shoulder. "I really did buy groceries, but now I don't want to get out of bed."

"We don't have to," Tyler says. "Not yet."

Nathan cuddles close to him for a couple of minutes. Tyler runs his hand through Nathan's hair. It's nice, and he doesn't want to get out of bed either.

Then Nathan sits up with a sigh. "We're going to get sticky," he says, "and it's not that warm in here."

He's right about both of those things, so Tyler gets out of bed and follows Nathan into the bathroom. They have to go back to the bedroom to retrace their steps and get dressed, and then Nathan goes into the kitchen and pulls things out of the cabinets and refrigerator.

"Do you want help?"

"No," Nathan says. He kisses Tyler lightly. "Get on the other side of the counter. You're too much of a distraction."

Tyler smiles at him and sits down on one of the bar stools on the other side of the counter. They talk a little while Nathan cooks, the holiday stories they haven't shared yet, Nathan's trip back, Tyler's day.

Tyler watches Nathan's hands while he cooks, and he waits until Nathan's done cutting things up before he says, "I wanted to ask you something."

Nathan smiles at him. "Ask."

Tyler takes a deep breath. "I have tickets to a Celtics game next week. Do you want to go?" He hurries on before Nathan can answer. "They're floor seats, and I'm well known around Boston, and I'm out, and we'll probably get photographed and people will know you're my boyfriend." Tyler makes a face. "I mean, there are already some pictures of us on Twitter and whatever, but there will be professional photographers at the game, and I don't know if you want that kind of attention."

Nathan leans on the counter and takes Tyler's hands in his. "I googled you, you know. A while ago. I know what you mean to Boston." He brings Tyler's hand up and presses a kiss to his knuckles. "I love you, and I still want to be with you, and I don't care who knows that I'm your boyfriend." Then he flashes a grin at Tyler. "And basketball is a sport I can actually follow."

Tyler laughs and leans farther over the counter so he can kiss Nathan.

*

**Epilogue**

"You're making me jittery just watching you," Brownie says. "Get over here and stir the eggs."

"I'm not jittery," Tyler says, but he goes around the counter anyway and takes the spatula from Brownie. Having a specific task to do does make him feel less like he's going to come out of his skin with anticipation.

"Uh-huh," Brownie says, not even pretending like he believes Tyler. "Did you even sleep last night?"

"Yes," Tyler says. He didn't fall asleep until at least an hour after he went to bed, and he was up early this morning, but Brownie doesn't need to know that.

"Okay," Brownie says, still not sounding like he believes him.

"Like you ever sleep when Julie's coming to visit."

"I sleep," Brownie says, "because I want to be well-rested when I see her."

"You do not," Tyler says. He stirs the eggs again even though they probably don't need it. "It's the first time Nathan's been here."

"Yeah, I know." Brownie smiles at him, and then it drops into a smirk. "I'm going to have lunch with you, and then I'm going up to Wasaga for a couple of days."

Tyler frowns at him. "What? Why?"

"You haven't seen him in three weeks," Brownie says, "and I've already overheard more of your sex life than I ever needed to." He gets out plates and forks. "I'll come back and hang out, but I'm going to let you get all of your loud reunion sex out of the way first."

Tyler knows he's turning bright red, but he bumps his shoulder against Brownie's anyway. "As long as you're going to be here to get to know him."

Brownie puts the plates and forks on the counter and wraps one arm around Tyler's shoulders. "Of course I am. I have to see if he's good enough for me to divorce you."

Tyler laughs and leans into Brownie. "He is. You'll see."


End file.
